Memento
by MitsukiShiroi
Summary: ItaSaku: During a time of potential war and intricate, delicate political situations that require her complete attention, the last thing Haruno Sakura needed was to attract the attention of Uchiha Itachi.
1. Chapter 1

**Memento – An Itachi & Sakura story.**

**By: Mitsuki Shiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **__Overall warnings for the story; spoilers up till manga 296. The story is canon to the anime up till pre-time skip, after that, it has changed. Uchiha Itachi x Haruno Sakura pairing, so don't read if you don't like. This is a repost from Memento last year. Enjoy the story!_

**Chapter One – Fated Ones**

When she woke up, everything hurt. Glaring lights blinded her as she weakly opened her eyes. Immediately, strong, female hands pushed her down back to the bed as she unconsciously tried to get up. Hissing softly as her body started to thrum again with pain, she momentarily closed her eyes in an effort to protect them from the light before she tried to focus on the female shinobi next to her.

"Calm down Sakura," her mentor's voice sounded far away. "You have a severe wound on your back. If you move too much, you might open it again."

As she carefully listened to Tsunade's explanation, her mind tried to puzzle everything together. She had been on a mission with Naruto and Sasuke to escort someone from Cloud back to his hometown in the north, but before they realized it, the three of them were attacked by some shinobi from Stone. The shinobi that attacked them were strong; almost too strong for her to handle.

The worst thing about it all was that the shinobi had succeeded in their mission. The one they were assigned to protect was killed before they could even lift a finger to save him and the look that he shot into her reaction would forever haunt her mind. It was almost accusing and raised the hairs on her arms and neck while thinking about it.

"Naruto… Sasuke…?" She groaned as she felt the wound on her back beginning to bleed again, soaking her scarlet shirt a deeper shade of red.

"They're alright, Shizune is with them," Tsunade reassured her quickly as she stroked Sakura's forehead in an attempt to soothe her. "Sakura, we need to turn you around, bear with us for a while."

Nodding her head almost imperceptibly, she could hear Tsunade barking orders to the medics around her, before several hands held her sides and flipped her over on the soft bed. Moments later, she could feel chakra entering her body, healing the jagged cut diligently. Sakura tried to open her eyes, but found herself unable to lift her heavy eyelids. Within seconds, she was unconscious again.

--

"Your wound healed nicely," Shizune commented as she inspected Sakura's scar. Pulling down Sakura's shirt, she flashed Sakura a sincere smile. "Naruto and Sasuke are in room 203; you can visit them if you want."

Sakura nodded dully before brushing some stray strands of hair from her eyes. It started so simply; retrieve the scroll from the enemy camps and report back to the Hokage. Little did they know what a disaster it would be. If Naruto wasn't there, she was sure that Sasuke would have died, and she would've too.

She owed her life to the blonde.

She groaned softly as she pushed herself up from the hospital bed before bowing slightly to Shizune. She padded towards the door, having troubles keeping her balance as she was bed-ridden for several days. Mentally cursing herself for not wearing any slippers as her toes nearly froze, she finally reached the room where Naruto and Sasuke resided.

Without even so much as a knock, Sakura opened the door and smiled softly at the nurse who looked up.

"I'm looking for Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke," she mouthed, noticing that the patient the nurse was checking on was asleep.

The nurse smiled back before pointing towards the two beds on the other side of the room. Sakura nodded slowly before walking towards the beds. As she reached them, she could clearly see Naruto's blonde hair. His sky-blue eyes were closed to the world and he seemed peaceful, a soft smile adorning his lips.

In the bed next to him was Sasuke, but unlike Naruto, the Uchiha was wide awake. He held his hand up in acknowledgement as she waved at him, but said nothing. Taking a deep breath, Sakura walked towards Sasuke, grabbing the chair that stood next to Naruto's bed.

"How are you, Sasuke-kun?" she whispered, unwilling to disrupt Naruto's peaceful sleep.

"Fine," he whispered back before creasing his brows. Clearly, he was brooding over something as he sat up straight in his bed, adjusting his pillow before facing Sakura with a serious expression. "Naruto has been asleep for three days now but his wounds were completely healed hours after he was brought in."

Sakura remained silent after his remark, knowing what Sasuke was about to ask. Naruto hadn't specifically told her to keep quiet about the Kyuubi inside of him, but she knew that he wanted to be the one to tell Sasuke, that is if, Sasuke came back to Konoha.

It was a year ago when he finally did return, found by the Konoha ANBU, and brought in during her hospital shift. He had evidently been fighting as he had several serious wounds and his chakra was completely depleted. It took him several days to recuperate, but ultimately, his body didn't suffer any permanent damage.

He never spoke one word about Orochimaru, or Sound to anyone, with the sole exception of Tsunade. Apparently, his explanation was enough as he had been readmitted into Konoha. He earned his Chuunin status together with Naruto and Team 7 had been reunited with Hatake Kakashi as their leader. They never asked for answers nor did Sasuke offer them. Though both of them were convinced that he would talk when he was ready.

She resisted the urge to sigh as she took in the form of the boy she used to adore. His hair was cut to its usual length - when he had returned, his hair was almost long as Itachi's and when he first glanced at a mirror, he demanded a kunai from Naruto and cut the strands of hair that hung in front of his eyes back to normal length. His midnight eyes were still impassive pools but Sakura could immediately see the horror that resided within him. Reading Sasuke was easy for her, she had been doing it since Team 7 was formed all those years ago.

"Sakura," his steady voice called out to her. Awaking from her reverie, she found Sasuke staring directly at her, a partially concealed concern in his eyes. "How's the cut on your back?"

"Better," she tipped her head slightly as she heard Naruto making some noise. A glance in the direction of the usually obnoxious shinobi made her realize that he was still asleep. "Tsunade-shishou and Shizune-san managed to heal the cut within hours."

He nodded approvingly but never smiled. Sakura fully understood the reason for that, why he laughed and smiled so rarely; Sasuke's entire clan was murdered and when he set out to break bonds with his friends and village to gain power, Orochimaru probably did something terrible and horrifying to him. Sasuke was back – after what she had guessed were some gruesome experiences - but his ambition for revenge had never wavered, he was as determined as he was four years ago.

She nodded before standing up. "I'll come back when Naruto is awake."

He blinked slowly before returning the curt nod. Sakura flashed him her smile before turning around and leaving the room. Although she was a medic-nin, she hated hospitals with a passion. It would always remind her of the time when Sasuke challenged Naruto, right before he left. She would never forget the looks on their faces as they prepared for the final blow, almost forgetting that they were friends. If Kakashi hadn't interjected, ending the fight, who knows how bad it would have become?

She shivered involuntarily as she mused over that incident. The thing that frightened her most was Sasuke. The look of pure frustration when it became clear to him that Naruto was a tough one to beat was haunting. She had instantly realized that he was measuring this fight with Itachi. If he was unable to defeat Naruto easily, he would not stand a chance against his older brother.

Although she knew he would try to leave sooner or later, it shook her to her core as she found out that she was right, and Sasuke tried to leave the village after their little fight. During their last conversation, it became clear to her that he wasn't the same as her. He prioritized revenge above friends and would do anything to obtain absolute power. In a last ditch attempt to stop him – although knowing it was impossible – she confessed her love to him and he told her she was annoying.

Reaching her room, she exhaled sharply as she realized she had been holding her breath since she had left the boys' room. It happened years ago, years ago since Sasuke said his goodbyes, years ago since he left everything behind in order to catch up with his brother but it still affected her deeply.

She walked towards her bed as she held onto the wall for support, feeling her knees buckle as she mentally admonished herself for being such a fool and walking this much while she was still injured and tired. With great effort, she pushed herself back onto the bed, wrapping the unsoiled, white sheets around her frozen legs.

Inevitably, her thoughts flew back to the elder Uchiha. While studying under Tsunade, she had worked hard and earned herself the right to look into the Bingo book and Itachi's personal mission files and reports. Many times, she wondered how a man like Itachi, with a promising future that could even lead to being the Fifth Hokage, could change into a murdering machine who massacred his entire clan – people who raised him – and left his brother to pick up the pieces.

There were also times that she admired him. He was cold, ruthless and maniacal – at least, that's what she believed – but he was also an ANBU squad leader at the young age of thirteen, calculating, strong and probably the best student in the history of Konoha. Although he had destroyed Sasuke's life and future completely, there was no doubt about it that she found the elder Uchiha intriguing.

Resting her head on top of the cozy pillow, she buried herself underneath the sheets, silently cursing as she kept shivering.

_Perhaps talking about a criminal like Uchiha Itachi produces this effect, _she thought as she softly smiled before closing her eyes, drifting off in a deep slumber.

--

"Uchiha Itachi?" a deep voice asked as soon as his comrades fainted. He saw the senbon and had easily dodged them; his teammates were less fortunate however. With a look that hinted annoyance, he looked up and let his Sharingan meet another pair of unique blood-red eyes.

"I've been waiting for you," the voice continued. "Let me make this as short and simple as possible. If I offered you strength and power to become the strongest Shinobi in the world, would you accept the offer? Or will you live the rest of your life here, hidden within the confines of Konoha?"

Itachi closed his eyes for a moment, taking his time to scan the perimeter. As far as he could tell, there was no one else in the vicinity which would mean that this man in front of him was a fool.

"There's no one here," the man in the black and red cloak chuckled darkly before jumping off his branch. "Join my organization in three years and I'll make you stronger."

"Join?" Itachi asked interested. "You want me to leave this village so that I can join your organization?"

Suddenly, Itachi felt like invisible hands were choking him, the chakra intensity around him was menacing and dark. Quickly regaining his composure, his eyes were widened as he looked up to the stranger when the feeling of killing intent died down slightly. This was it; this was the power he wanted, and the man in front of him had shown it to him with only an intention to kill.

"There are five others taking the Chuunin exams at the moment; five other genius shinobi from various villages. They're waiting for an explanation why I picked them and if you come with me, you will have your answers."

For the first time in his life, Itachi stood there speechless as he tried to regain his equanimity. His useless teammates would be out cold for at least another day. He had three more days before the Chuunin exam ended. Making up his mind, Itachi's gaze hardened as he took a step into the mysterious man's direction.

"Follow me," the man chuckled mirthlessly before jumping onto another branch, Itachi following.

"_Follow me."_

Long before the first rays of sunlight entered through his small bedroom window, Itachi was wide awake. The cold laugh of his leader rang through his head as he stared at the village near Akatsuki's headquarters, amused to see daily life starting again.

Eleven years since Leader – as everybody called him – found him. Nine years since he massacred his family in cold blood as he tried to obtain power. Four years since he first saw his Jinchuuriki – the Kyuubi, or Uzumaki Naruto. Three years since he moved into his small apartment in River. Leader had deemed it best for the teams to split up and to let every shinobi find their own house to live in.

Pocketing his hands in a casual matter that was almost unfit for the shinobi, Itachi watched how his neighbors passed the house, sharing a light conversation as they laughed out loud, entering the small café on the other side of the road. Turning around, he sighed softly before picking up the scroll that came directly from his leader. Mild irritation grew as he realized that the scroll was a reminder. To join Akatsuki, one must be strong, strong enough to kill your own clan, but to leave one of them behind, all alone.

Furthermore, the more problematic part of it all was to find someone to share the soul of the demons with. As seen with the current Jinchuuriki, most of them couldn't handle all of the power and Akatsuki's leader had found it prudent for them to find someone to share the soul with. At least until they have found out a way to completely control the souls.

Ironically enough, every single Akatsuki member, with exception of Kisame and Itachi had found those persons. Kisame had a hard time because of his looks; there were hardly any girls that were attracted to him. Itachi's case rested on a few things. He wished for a partner who was intelligent, beautiful but also strong. Amazingly enough, finding such a woman seemed impossible.

Then again, there were few women who were attracted to extremely dangerous shinobi and almost no woman in Konoha would be attracted to the Uchiha clan's murderer. They all know his history; it just was tough luck that he _had_ to find someone in Konoha.

Itachi wasn't worried though; it would be out of character for him to worry about such a trivial thing. However, they were starting the pursuits of the remaining Jinchuuriki soon enough and if he would not find anybody he would be in trouble when they had to transfer the Jinchuuriki into his body.

Without a flicker of emotion, he picked up his Akatsuki robes before exiting the house.

Failure was not an option.

--

"Sakura-chan!" a loud and boisterous voice called out to her. She could right away identify the voice to the owner and looked up from her work, half agitated, half smiling.

"Naruto," she warned him as she tried her best to look angry. "This is a hospital; you can't go and scream around in the hallways."

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan," Naruto bowed his head slightly in apology. She let out a sigh as her anger made place for a smile.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled before putting her pen down. "What is it?"

"Kakashi-sensei wants a team meeting," Naruto smiled brightly. "He even requested a B-Rank mission for Sasuke and me!"

She raised her eyebrows. "Sasuke and you? What about me?" Although she tried to hide the hurt look in her eyes, she couldn't help but feel hurt. If Kakashi wanted to reunite Team 7, the least he could do was invite her as well. She was a part of the team too.

"Eh… About that," Naruto's smile faded and made place for a serious look. "Since Sasuke isn't telling us about Orochimaru and what happened during those years, Kakashi thought it would be a good idea for me to go on a mission with Sasuke, to try and coax something out of him."

Sakura nodded as she took a sip from her water. "If he is sending only the two of you on a mission, why is he asking for a team meeting, since I'm going to be left here," she answered bitterly, but, immediately, she regretted her words. She had though she had put this pettiness behind her!

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I'm a little overworked and I'm getting slightly edgy because of it. It's great that you're going on a mission with Sasuke, I hope you can get something out of him!"

"Right," Naruto nodded in agreement as a smile bloomed back on his lips. "He wants us at the bridge at eight o'clock tonight… But knowing him, it'll be ten before he finally arrives," he added as an afterthought. His grin widened as he heard Sakura chuckle.

"Well then, see you tonight," he waved and disappeared seconds later.

"See you," she whispered softly, the smile still apparent on her lips.

--

"Yo gentleman," Kakashi said as he appeared with a poof, right hand raised as a greeting. "Sorry I'm late, I saw a turtle on the streets and I had to help the poor thing out so I ran to the sea and back. He actually thanked me afterwards."

"You liar!" Naruto and Sakura both yelled at the same time, raising their fists.

Kakashi's visible eye creased in pleasure as he walked towards his former students. All three of them were Chuunin now and it pleased him to no end to know that the three of them were reunited again after Sasuke's little escapade to Sound, which actually lasted three years. Thankfully he came back just before Orochimaru could transfer his mind to Sasuke's body.

"So, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto strode towards his former mentor. "Where are we going?"

"I was thinking of Ichiraku…" Kakashi started, tipping his head in mock consideration. "But I guessed the three of you were sick ramen, so I'm taking to out to eat some healthy food."

He chuckled softly as Naruto ecstatic expression changed to one of utter disgust. Even if Naruto was four years older than the last time he offered the blonde some vegetables, it was clear to anybody that Naruto still thoroughly disliked healthy food and preferred ramen.

"Just kidding," Kakashi laughed light-heartedly. "We'll go to Ichiraku, but only if Sasuke and Sakura agree."

"Really?" Naruto cheered before turning around, his eyes pleading. "Please, Sakura-chan, Sasuke?"

"Sure," Sasuke sighed tiredly. If he would go against Naruto's wishes, he was sure that they would still be standing there until midnight, bickering over a place to eat. So he took the easy way out and agreed with the kitsune.

"Let's go," Sakura nodded in agreement. She laughed as Naruto jogged towards her, giving her a chaste hug before slapping Sasuke on the shoulder, earning a patent Uchiha death glare. Naruto was unimpressed though as he stuck out his tongue childishly before leading the way to his favorite restaurant.

"He's impossible," Sasuke muttered as he fell into step next to Sakura. "Why is it that he's always happy?"

"He is happy to have friends who care about him, that's all," Sakura answered, smiling as she heard her blonde friend having a heated argument with Kakashi about which kind of ramen was best. "He's not that hard to understand. He just hates to be alone," Sakura added.

Sasuke nodded slowly as if he tried to digest the information. Sakura inhaled deeply before looking up. She loved to go star-gazing at night; everything seemed so peaceful after a long day when watching the stars. A warm breeze passed by, messing up her hair slightly. Sighing, she casually brushed away the pink bangs that hung in front of her sea-foam green eyes.

"Sasuke," she whispered as she straightened her hair.

"Hm?" his reply came.

"I want to take the Jounin exam… Do you think I can make it?" she queried softly.

There was a long pause after that and although it was getting on Sakura's nerves, she knew that she shouldn't rush Sasuke. He would tell her what he honestly thought; if she even stood a chance in the Jounin exams, he would tell her so. But he would also tell her if he thought she was unfit to become a Jounin. That was part of the reason why she asked Sasuke. The other part was to see if he finally acknowledged her as a good shinobi.

She fell out of love with him long ago and now only saw him as a friend she cared deeply about, but his opinion would always matter to her. Just like Naruto's opinion and Kakashi's opinion. They were the most important men in her life.

"Take it," Sasuke replied quietly. "You've become a good kunoichi Sakura, so take the exam."

She swallowed hard as she tried to fight the tears away. For him to tell her to take the Jounin exam would be good enough, but to hear that he respected her was unexpected, yet not entirely unpleasant.

"Thank you," she whispered quietly as she smiled brightly. She watched how Sasuke turned around to glance at her, his arrogant yet familiar grin on his lips as he turned around. He nodded slowly before pocketing his hands and followed Kakashi and Naruto into Ichiraku.

Ironically enough, that single gesture, that smirk; it all reminded her of the night he left. He was dressed exactly the same, only his blue backpack was missing and this time, he wore his hitae-ate with pride and dignity. Sasuke was back.

Brushing away some of the tears that made their way down her cheek and towards her jaw line, she smiled happily. Team 7 was reunited and there was nothing that could rip them apart again- no Orochimaru and no cursed seals as Sasuke had sworn never to use it again, except for his fight with Itachi. They were a team again, nothing could ever change that.

Happiness was overflowing as she stepped inside the small bar called Ichiraku, taking her place between Kakashi and Sasuke. Sasuke was glancing at her eyes, obviously noticing that she had been crying. Sakura flashed him a genuine smile, showing him that she was alright, before grabbing her chopsticks to eat her ramen.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto exclaimed as he started eating in an abnormal pace.

--

"I'm stuffed," Naruto sighed contently as he rubbed his stomach. He grinned as he watched Kakashi counting his money. Sakura giggled, feeling sorry for their teacher, but he should have known better and just let Naruto pay for his own food.

"I'd better go," Naruto yawned widely. "Sasuke, the mission starts at one o'clock in the morning. Let's meet up at the gate, okay?"

"Hn," the Uchiha nodded in response.

"See you!" Naruto grinned before disappearing into thin air. After muttering goodbye, Kakashi followed, leaving the both of them behind.

"I'm going too," Sakura stifled a yawn behind her hand. "It's been a long day."

Before she could even say goodbye, Sasuke brushed passed her and kept on walking for a while, before turning around. "Are you coming?"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You… You don't have to take me home you know, Sasuke, I can get back myself."

"Your house is on my way home anyway," Sasuke sighed, indicating that he didn't wish to argue this matter. "I have a mission tomorrow Sakura, so let's go." Turning around, he started walking again, resisting the urge to grin as he heard Sakura running towards him, trying to fall into step beside him.

"Thank you, Sasuke," she said.

Her apartment was only a few blocks away from Ichiraku; it was a small building that didn't stand out like the huge Uchiha complex where Sasuke lived, or the crooked building where Naruto lived. Her mother had died of a disease two years prior to Sasuke's return and she had never known her father, so she was living alone at the moment. A discomforting thought at times, especially after she had been so angry with her mother at times that she wished her away when she was a child. Now, she just wanted her mother back and she understood exactly what Sasuke meant when he had told her she was annoying during their first real conversation. The pain of losing someone close to you was so painful, it could take your breath away and even after two years, it still stung her.

She couldn't imagine how Sasuke felt when he lost his entire clan in one night. It must have felt like his soul was ripped out.

Fumbling in her pockets for the keys, she was surprised to find Sasuke still behind her, thinking that he might have just gone home without even saying goodbye. Apparently, he wanted to check everything out before leaving, it was a habit of his to make sure that the vicinity was safe.

Opening the door, she clicked on the lights and immediately noticed the fact that there were numerous scrolls scattered throughout the hallway. Her mother's favorite painting had a large slash through the canvas, pictures were torn from the wall and her desk was almost completely destroyed. Shocked, she inhaled deeply as she felt Sasuke pass her by, clicking on the lights as he entered her house. She closed the door behind her before taking her sandals off, entering the living room as she prepared herself for the worst.

It was even worse than she had expected.

Her apartment was completely ransacked; couches were destroyed, the TV had been thrown onto the ground, there were tears in the expensive tatami mats her mother had bought and cherished years ago. Fighting back the tears that welled in the corners of her eyes, she ran upstairs, Sasuke following her wordlessly as she opened the door that lead to her mothers' bedroom.

"Pigs," she could hear Sasuke mutter next to her as she tentatively took a step into the pastel-pink colored room. Her mothers' bed was completely destroyed just like her closet. Tears dotted her cheeks as she crouched down on the ground, picking up shattered glass that used to be a mirror. She flinched as she accidentally cut her finger open, and molded chakra to close the wound again.

"How could they…" she whispered sadly as she stood up and brushed past Sasuke towards her own bedroom. As she neared the door, she could immediately smell the stench of paint. Blinded by her tears and blind fury, she kicked the door open with her immense strength, the door falling out of its hinges because of the brute force.

Of all the rooms in the house, hers was worst. Her bed was cut open and it seemed like somebody actually attempted to throw the entire mattress filling on the ground. Her scroll that hung on the wall was covered in thick, red paint, just like her pictures with Ino, Team 7 and Naruto.

As much as she tried to hold it all in, she started to sob as she let herself drop down on her knees when she read the sentence that was splattered all over her wall.

_Watch your back bitch._

Pressing her palms against her face, her hair covered her face as she tried to stop herself from crying in front of Sasuke. He had just told her that she was a strong shinobi; she needed to prove that and be as emotionless as she could possibly muster at the moment. She could hear him move behind her and faintly realized that he stood in front of her, crouching down as he put his hand on her shoulder in a faint attempt of comfort.

"You can stay in my house tonight Sakura," his deep voice drifted to her, calming her down slightly as she stopped sobbing.

"No, I want to stay here," she wiped away her tears as she tipped her head to face him.

Wordlessly, he grabbed her wrist before helping her up. "Come on," he said in a tone that didn't leave any place for arguments. His firm manner briefly set her mind straight and she silently agreed with Sasuke that it was for the best if she stayed in the Uchiha complex for the night. She would clear the mess in the morning.

Then again, Sasuke had never even invited any of their team members to his home so she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable as he led her away from the mess that was her home. All the way, he held her wrist in his hand, the heat of his body pleasantly warm against her wrist.

It didn't take them long to reach the compound but for Sakura it felt like it took them ages to get there. Her house was still on her mind, just like the insults on her wall but her train of thoughts soon left her as Sasuke pushed the gates that led to the Uchiha complex open and signaled her to go inside.

As soon as she stepped inside, she gasped softly. Houses on each side of a huge road, the Uchiha emblem on every house and every lantern in the district. But the houses were dark and empty. A small café was situated on her right, but the glass was shattered, dust was gathering on the tables and it almost seemed like it had been snowing inside.

A gently push on her back from Sasuke urged her to walk forward, allowing him to lead the way towards his own house. As they passed the empty houses, Sakura couldn't help but feel sad for Sasuke. He had been living with this for years already, coming home to the reminder that his entire clan was wiped out and he was the only one left. He would come home to see the dust gathering inside of every house, come home to the complete silence. There would be nobody to greet him, to make dinners for him or to even talk to him.

No wonder Sasuke was so grownup for his age, he was forced to act like one since his clan was murdered.

Not for the first time, she felt contempt for the elder Uchiha. He had single-handedly destroyed his entire clan, leaving only his brother for what? To teach Sasuke how to cook? How to wash things? How to clean out the house when he wasn't on duty?

She grinded her teeth before realizing that Sasuke had stopped. He relinquished his hold on her wrist before sliding the dark shoji screen open. Glancing at the small nameplate on the wall, she could barely read the bold kanji on the metal.

_Uchiha Fugaku, Mikoto & Sasuke_

Another name was impossible to read as there were numerous slashes through the name, but she could already guess whose name was once there. Saddened by the thought of a young Sasuke scratching his brother's name from his memories with a kunai, Sakura followed Sasuke into his house, politely removing her sandals as he clicked the lights on.

He led her to another room before sliding the shoji screen open. She stepped outside, admiring the small garden and the bamboo fountain that was next to the house. Without saying a word, she followed Sasuke, understanding how hard it must be for him to see another human being in his house after such a long time.

Sasuke took her into another room where a small table was situated, together with a refrigerator and a sink. A small picture stood on the table, with Sasuke and his two parents, but he tore away his brother from the picture. She resisted the urge to cry as she realized that the Sasuke in the picture still had hopes and dreams. His smile was radiating and infectious, almost mirroring the one in his mother's features. She was beautiful with long dark hair and the same midnight blue eyes as Sasuke possessed. His father on the other hand looked stern but she could see the underlying pride in his eyes.

Itachi was missing from any other picture that she had seen and she felt somewhat disappointed for she had really wanted to see how he looked, just once. She had always been wondering if he looked like a cruel killer, or just like Sasuke.

"You can sleep in the room next to this one," Sasuke said mutely as he pointed to another room, awaking her from her thoughts. "I don't recommend going into the room opposite to that one and I wouldn't like the thought of you entering there."

He made his point clear; she had heard from several people that his parents – the clan leaders – were killed in their own house. She immediately understood the need to keep that room from others. She nodded in understanding before bowing politely. "Thank you Sasuke," she answered as softly as him. For some reason, she felt the need to speak quietly as if she tried to respect those who had died so many years ago.

It felt like she was standing in the middle of a mass grave.

She padded towards the room which he had pointed out and softly opened the shoji screen before nodding once more to Sasuke. He nodded back and raised his hand as a goodbye. Sakura returned the gesture and closed the door behind her.

She sighed deeply as she glanced at the futon on the ground, faintly wondering who slept in it last before shaking those thoughts away. Sasuke was giving her a place to stay; it was a sign of trust. She quickly disposed of her red Haruno shirt, silently praising herself because she hadn't forgotten the white tank top underneath. Eyeing the futon a little warily, she closed her eyes to calm herself down and crawled underneath the blankets.

Before long, her eyelids started to feel heavy and her breathing started to slow as she fell asleep in the warm confines of the Uchiha futon.

--

"Sasuke," the blonde shinobi exclaimed. "You're late!"

"Hn," Sasuke replied as he strode towards Naruto in a calm manner. Last night had become extra late as he couldn't fall asleep, knowing that there was someone else in the house. His bedroom was two rooms away from hers but he could hear her move every so often and whenever that happened, he shot awake, kunai in his hands in case Itachi came back to finish the job.

"Have you seen Sakura-chan?" Naruto's grin disappeared for a moment. "I tried to visit her this morning to say goodbye but she wasn't there. Ino hadn't seen her either."

"She slept in my house tonight," Sasuke said simply, ignoring the look of shock and anger on Naruto's face. "It's not what you think, somebody ransacked her apartment and she needed a place to sleep."

Naruto's angry look made place for a shocked one as he dropped his scroll. "What did they do?"

"Destroyed her pictures, furniture, a painting, her room, her mother's room and their bathroom," Sasuke picked up the scroll as he wiped off the fresh mud of its surface. "They even painted the sentence 'watch your back bitch' on her walls."

"You're kidding me!" Naruto was fuming now. "Is she alright?"

"Hn," he replied simply. "She'll be fine."

"I guess…" Naruto grimaced. "I wish I could be there with her to help her clean the mess."

"She still has Ino, Shikamaru, Kakashi and the others to help her out," Sasuke pointed out. "Besides, we have a mission."

"Hm," Naruto replied, brows furring. "Let's go, the Daimyou is expecting us in two hours, and you know how his wife gets whenever shinobi are late."

Sasuke smirked, "The usual speech? Shinobi are no good except to save my sweet baby?"

"And by baby, she means the cat," Naruto returned the smirk. "Poor Daimyou."

"Let's go," Sasuke replied.

"Hn," Naruto mimicked Sasuke's sound of approval and ignored Sasuke's poignant stare as they started running.

"I'll race ya," he shouted to the dark-haired boy.

"Fine with me," Sasuke retorted easily before smirking sadistically. "Dead last."

"We'll see who is last," Naruto stuck out his tongue before doubling his speed.

--

The sound of someone's footsteps woke her from her light slumber. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes as she tried to adjust them to the bright lights that entered the room through the small window. She was bathing in sweat, roseate strands of hair sticking to her cheeks and her neck.

When she heard the footsteps again, she tensed, Shinobi instinct taking over. Grabbing a kunai from her pouch that was still attached onto her leg, she stood up without making any noise and cautiously walked towards the shoji screen.

The footsteps were too heavy to belong to Sasuke, too light to belong to Kakashi and Naruto never moved with such stealth. Other than the three of them, she couldn't think of anyone else who would enter the Uchiha complex. Readying her kunai, she opened the shoji screen slightly.

Before she could even blink, she was lying face down on the wooden floor, a body pressed against her back and the tip of a kunai pressing into her neck. She breathed harshly, feeling the need to push whoever sat on her off, but resisted the urge to do so. She didn't know how powerful the man on her back was and his kunai was touching a critical point. It would be no problem for the man to kill her if she tried to do anything stupid.

"You've awakened," a deep voice which sounded haughty like Sasuke's said. This voice was slightly different though; it was the same smooth tenor as Sasuke's, but more mature and deeper. Far deeper.

"Who are you?" Sakura relinquished her hold on her kunai, knowing it would be impossible to strike him in the position she was in. But surprisingly, the man stood up and as she looked sideways to see his face, the first thing she saw was a black and red cloak.

As her gaze traveled up his body, she finally saw his face and was unable to stifle a gasp.

_Sharingan._

But that wasn't the only thing. His dark hair and facial structure oddly reminded her of Sasuke. At first she thought that he might be a surviving clan member but the more she saw of him, the more she realized she was in trouble.

Big trouble.

She had seen him once before, when Ino and she were practicing their flower arrangement. Sasuke was practicing just feet away from them and Ino had told her that it would be the perfect opportunity to wow him with her flowers.

Just when she had worked up enough courage to walk towards him, another man came to him, dressed in a Chuunin uniform. His hair was long and he seemed older than Sasuke. He had lines on his face that betrayed his youth and made him look far older than he actually was. At that time, she had thought of him as another Uchiha and didn't pay much attention to him.

But here he was, standing in front of her with a blank look in his eyes and for some reason, she instantly knew. She wanted to see his picture for years, to satisfy her curiosity about Uchiha Itachi, but all the while, she had already seen him. And now she saw him again as he crouched down beside her, kunai still in his hand.

_Uchiha Itachi_

--

_**A/N: **__This is the longest chapter I've ever written in my entire fanfiction career! Wow. Ah well, I hope you liked the start of Memento. There isn't going to be ANY SasuSaku action, just so you're warned. They're good friends, nothing more._

_The first part from Itachi's POV is from his first encounter with the Akatsuki Leader, if you hadn't figured it out already. Throughout the story, I'll insert many of these moments until the mystery around Akatsuki is solved!_

_Thank you Stem for being my favorite beta!_

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	2. Chapter 2

**Memento – An Itachi & Sakura story.**

**By: Mitsuki Shiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **__And here's chapter two._

**Chapter Two – Ruthless**

"Make yourself comfortable," the man's voice spoke as he jumped down from a branch, landing on a small open spot. Following the man's example, Itachi jumped down, a kunai still ready in his hands.

Although the man promised him that nobody would attack him, he was still an Uchiha and Uchiha always were on their guards. No matter what.

Landing with amazing stealth, Itachi looked around the opening, finding seven other shinobi standing there. Bored looks on their faces; some looked perfectly normal, one was completely obscured by the foliage of a tree and the last one that caught his attention was the one with a body that looked like a plant.

"Please, gentlemen, sit down so that I can explain some things to you," the man casually waved with his hand. Amazingly enough, it never occurred to him that the man might be trouble. With a small smirk adorning his lips, Itachi sat down next to the shark man who shot him a piercing stare before glancing at the mysterious man again.

"All of you are exceptional shinobi," a small sigh was heard and as he resumed talking, Itachi could detect a small sense of pride. "That is why I have chosen you. I have an organization, Akatsuki, which fights for one purpose and one purpose only."

"Spare us the crap and tell us for what you've _chosen_ us… yeah," a deep voice sounded from Itachi's right. Turning his head slightly, he could see a blond shinobi toying with a kunai in his hand, a bored expression on his face. The blonde glared back at Itachi before focusing his attention back on the man. Itachi ignored the glare and continued to gauge his strength.

He could already feel that the men surrounding him were strong. He had never felt chakra levels this high and developed. It was refreshing to know that he wasn't the only prodigy in the exam. There were _more_ like him.

"And what you want of us?" the dark-haired shark-man growled, gripping the sword on his back. "You dragged me here from Mist, so this better be good."

"I agree," a soft voice spoke up. Itachi looked up to find an angelic looking redhead sitting opposite of him. Although he seemed very young, there was something wrong with his chakra. Itachi couldn't pinpoint what it was though.

"You sent me a message that this would be worth my time and I risk my cover by being here," the redhead continued.

"Don't be so hasty," the man softly chuckled before stepping forward slightly. "I've called you all here for one specific reason…"

--

During her entire life, there had been several moments where she had been scared.

But never had she been as scared as she was now.

All color was gone from her usually pale face and she could feel her hands shake violently as she looked into his piercing crimson gaze.

Shinobi instincts took over as she quickly assessed his strength.The blank look in his eyes could tell her nothing about his mental condition, but he seemed rather relaxed, obviously knowing already that she wouldn't even be a challenge for him.

"Kunoichi," he said calmly, red eyes roaming over her features before locking his gaze with hers. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" she swallowed hard, trying to remove the large lump in her throat. "I could ask the same to you, Uchiha Itachi."

She gasped softly as the sharp point of his kunai punctured her skin as he pressed her down again the ground. Finding it extremely difficult to breathe, she fought to keep her eyes open to watch him as he hovered above her, obviously amused by the tears that were streaming out of her eyes due the lack of oxygen.

"I'll ask you again kunoichi," he said mutely. "What were you doing here?"

"I was sleeping," she managed to stammer as she tried to calm herself down, trying to match his cool demeanor. If she panicked, it wouldn't do her any good.

"Sleeping," he echoed softly before his mouth curved slightly. "Why here?"

Fascinated by the fact that Itachi could smirk and still not show any emotions, she forced herself to try and gain control of the situation. "My house is vandalized so Sasuke told me that I could sleep in that room."

Itachi said nothing as he stared at her momentarily. His Sharingan seemed to be searching for something in her eyes. Deeming it best not to disturb Itachi now, Sakura tensed slightly, whishing, hoping and praying that Itachi would let her go.

"What is your name?" he finally asked; a hint of curiosity in his voice.

Sakura blinked as Itachi relinquished his hold on her neck. "Sakura… Haruno Sakura," she whispered confusedly as he closed his eyes, dark lashes caressing his cheek. Taking this brief moment to observe Itachi as he hovered above her, she couldn't help but be amazed how much he looked like his younger brother, especially after Sasuke came back from his training with Orochimaru.

When he reopened his eyes, the Sharingan had transformed into pinwheels and were staring at her in a dangerous fashion. Before she could even open her mouth to say something to Itachi, the genjutsu started working and she felt herself being pulled away from reality before falling into a deep slumber.

Itachi watched as her green eyes closed and her breathing deepened. Knowing that his jutsu had worked, he stood up with certain ease, putting his kunai back in his holster before looking down at Sakura once more.

Judging by the flow of her chakra, she was a medic-nin. Rumors had reached his ears about the three students of Kakashi, every single one of them trained by a legendary sannin and all three had turned into three excellent shinobi.

Itachi made an amused sound as he took Sakura in his arms. She wouldn't remember the encounter after his jutsu ceased, but if she found herself lying on the floor in the middle of the Uchiha complex, she would definitely have questions.

Laying her down on the futon, he stood up before looking around in his old room. Although his desk had been removed from the room, like his scrolls, Sasuke hadn't burned the room down as Itachi would have expected. Moving towards a tatami mat in the right corner of his room, he picked it up without making a sound, before rummaging through the useless documents he had hidden underneath the floor.

Picking up the small, red scroll, Itachi placed the tatami mat back in place before stuffing the scroll in his pocket. Standing up from his crouched position, he gave the pink-haired kunoichi one last, curious glance before turning on his heels, leaving his former home.

--

"Can you believe this? She's still asleep," Naruto smiled as he caressed Sakura's hair tenderly.

Sasuke crouched down on the other side of Sakura, quickly noticing two things. First, Sakura had a miniscule, yet noticeable wound on her neck. Although the blood around it had dried up, he was fairy certain that she sustained that wound in the morning at the latest. Second, she was breathing too shallow for someone who was asleep, which could either mean two things. One, she was celebrating the first of April early and wanted to scare Naruto. Two, a genjutsu was cast over her.

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice sounded serious as ever. "She's being trapped in an illusion."

Naruto looked up to meet the Uchiha's gaze. "She's just asleep Sasuke."

"Then how do you explain the wound on her neck?" Sasuke said as he threw the blankets of Sakura's body. There were no other signs of a struggle or wounds, which put his mind to ease a little.

He watched as Naruto tried shaking Sakura awake, but it didn't help. Sakura didn't even budge.

"We need to get her to Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto said quietly as he inspected the wound. "I don't know if I can dispel the illusion."

Snaking his arms under Sakura's knees and back, Naruto quickly stood up and followed Sasuke out of his house, towards the Hokage's headquarters. Once in a while, he glanced down to see if Sakura had awakened, but to no avail.

It seemed Sasuke was right.

Doubling his speed, Naruto sprinted past Sasuke, all the while praying that the illusion hadn't trapped Sakura forever.

--

"And the two of you have no idea who cast that spell on her?" Tsunade questioned as she started to store chakra in her hand, preparing for the healing process. Placing her hand on top of Sakura's forehead, she quickly initiated the healing process.

"No," both boys muttered as they hovered over Sakura's sleeping body.

After a few moments, Tsunade removed her hand and Sakura's green eyes opened, looking around disorientated before being pulled into a bone crushing hug by Naruto.

"You scared me there," Naruto grinned widely as he pulled back. His sky blue eyes were brimming with happiness to see that Sakura was alright.

"… Sorry," she whispered as she looked around. "What time is it?"

"It's almost midnight," Tsunade answered her student as she gave Sakura a scrutinizing gaze. "Who did this to you Sakura?"

"I… I can't remember," Sakura said softly as she pressed a hand against her forehead, holding onto Naruto for support. "All I remembered was standing in a huge, black room. Then all of the sudden, Sasuke-kun's head grew on my arm and Naruto on the other… You were all telling me that I was a huge failure as a kunoichi…"

Recognition flickered in Naruto's eyes but it faded soon as he grabbed onto Sakura's shoulders, giving her another chaste hug.

"You're not a failure," he whispered friendly in her ear. "Don't worry about it, it was just a genjutsu. You can't call that strength of yours a failure. Everybody is envious of your monstrous and abnormal power!"

She lifted her arm to smack him on the head. "You're the only one who said that my strength is abnormal and monstrous, Naruto!"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan is back," Naruto chuckled as he dodged another one of her punches. Sasuke and Tsunade just watched in amusement as the blonde kept teasing the pink-haired kunoichi.

"Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto turned around to face Tsunade. The sannin nodded, silently urging him to continue. "Can I talk to you in a few minutes? I need to ask you something about the Jounin exams."

Nodding curtly, Tsunade walked out of the room and Naruto followed after exchanging a quick goodbye. Sasuke watched them with little interest before sitting down on one of the chairs that surrounded Sakura's bed.

"Shizune and a few others of your medic team cleaned up your house. Ino saw what happened in your house and reported it to Tsunade," Sasuke said casually as he folded his arms. He earned a grateful smile from the kunoichi before she was staring off into space again.

He recognized the look in her eyes. When Itachi had attacked him with the Mangekyou Sharingan for the second time, he had the same, dull look in his eyes.

His eyes narrowed for a split second as he considered the possibility of Itachi attacking her. After all, he had put her in Itachi's room. He wished he hadn't though and he would have given her another room if that were possible, but letting Sakura sleep in the cold kitchen was no option. The only other room in the Uchiha manor was his parent's, but he would rather die than put Sakura in that room. The blood of his father and mother still stained the wooden floors.

But the possibility of Itachi sneaking into the Uchiha complex, using a genjutsu on Sakura and leaving without being seen was virtually impossible.

_It must have been someone else, _Sasuke told himself. _If he had used Mangekyou, it would have been a lot harder on her. This was a strong illusion, but it's beneath even Orochimaru's level._

"Do you want to be alone?" Sasuke asked as he watched Sakura's face.

She shook her head. "No."

He nodded calmly before leaning backwards, his hands folded on his stomach and legs over each other. Glancing at the kunoichi, he sighed almost imperceptibly. What was he supposed to say at a time like this?

For a instant, he wished he was Naruto and could just comfort her without hesitation. But his name wasn't Uzumaki, it was Uchiha. And for that reason alone, Sasuke remained quiet in the chair, being the silent support that she desperately seemed to need.

--

"Leader is angry," Hoshigaki Kisame said as he rummaged the table in search of a scroll amidst all the paperwork. "Stone boy, Zetsu and the two of us still haven't fulfilled the other terms of our agreement."

Itachi didn't look up. "He never said that we had a time limit."

Kisame laughed at this, obviously delighted by something. Finally finding his scroll, he picked up the small sake bottle in the middle of the table. Pushing some paperwork aside, he found his glass and poured a glass. "Want one?"

"No," Itachi replied absentmindedly. "Have you found someone yet?"

"No," Kisame answered as he took a sip of his sake. "Have you?"

Itachi remained quiet as he thought back about the pink-haired kunoichi that he had found earlier that day. "… Perhaps."

Kisame chuckled as he lifted the sake back to his lips. Of all the Akatsuki members, he thought that Itachi was bound to find someone the fastest. Even the only female member of their organization had tried to flirt with Itachi. But Itachi was still one of the last ones left.

Not that it mattered anyhow.

Kisame knew that Zetsu would be one of the last though. The poor boy had to live with a multi-colored skin and a body that looked like a venus-fly trap. Deidara – or Rock boy as Kisame liked to call him – would have no troubles at all if he stopped ranting about art and people stopped mistaking him for a girl.

Kisame never was called attractive either; he figured he stood as much chance as Zetsu to find a partner. Unfortunately, love didn't come by force and so he was forced to wait until one day, someone would notice him.

Which – he was certain of it – would never happen.

But Itachi had the best looks in Akatsuki. It came with his family, apparently all Uchiha were lookers. That is, before Itachi killed all of them except his brother. They wouldn't look so handsome and pretty now. Not anymore.

"Does she fit the requirements?" Kisame asked as he took another sip of his sake.

A piercing look was momentarily flashed towards the shark man but Itachi didn't answer the question. Kisame shrugged before resuming drinking his sake, watching Itachi as he stood up, pushing his chair backwards. "Where are you going?"

"I have to confirm something," Itachi said quietly.

"Do I have to come too?" Kisame queried as he glanced at the younger shinobi, silently hoping that he could stay at home.

"No," Itachi responded in that deep voice of his before disappearing through one of the open doors, his open Akatsuki cloak billowing with his movement. Kisame chuckled softly before pouring himself more sake.

Without Itachi there to talk to – not that the Uchiha was talkative – it would be a long night.

--

The Fifth sat down before glancing towards the blonde youth in front of her. Making a gesture that he could start his explanation, Naruto sighed before sitting down, the happy smile from before now gone.

"I know that jutsu," Naruto said seriously as his eyes met hers. "Uchiha Itachi used it on me last year, when we went on the mission to retrieve Gaara."

Sighing heavily, Tsunade rested her elbows on her desk, fingers folding as she rested her chin on top of her hands. "Are you going to tell Sasuke about this?"

Naruto's eyes were downcast as he thought about his best friend. Memories quickly filled his mind. Sasuke had left both Sakura and him behind to find more strength to defeat Itachi… The sight of seeing him in Orochimaru's lair, not wanting to come with them… the sight of Sasuke lying in the hospital, his body bloody and battered…

… The memory of Sasuke transformed into a creature with wings, flying towards him as he thrust the Chidori towards him, intending to kill him as he yelled his name in frustration…

That wasn't Sasuke anymore. That wasn't the friend he had been in a team with for almost a year, the teammate he respected most and wanted respect from. That was a monster that both Orochimaru and Itachi created.

"No," Naruto said to her. "I'm not letting him go through that hell again."

Tsunade looked as if she was contemplating something before opening her mouth. "Sakura won't tell him about it, I'm sure," she said humorlessly. "But, what if he returns?"

"What makes you think that he is?" Naruto answered as he leaned back in his chair. "They're still hunting for me, but it doesn't make sense. Why did he attack Sakura-chan? She has nothing to do with it."

"You're her teammate," Tsunade pointed out. "However, it is peculiar that he didn't go after you instead. You were alone with Sasuke and a helpless Daimyou. Itachi has proven years ago that he has no troubles fighting his own sibling."

Naruto nodded as he brushed a few of his blonde strands of hair from his eyes. Over the years he had lost his childish, round face, making place for high cheekbones, a strong yet smooth jaw and his hair had changed beyond recognition. Tsunade smiled almost imperceptibly behind her hands. He now looked so much like the Yondaime that it was getting scary.

"Perhaps he needed something from the house?" Naruto remarked carefully. "She was attacked in Sasuke's house."

"That would make sense," Tsunade frowned slightly. "But what? I imagine Sasuke throwing all of Itachi's stuff out after the massacre, unless Itachi hid it in a place Sasuke didn't know about…"

"Want me to ask him about the room where Sakura slept in?" Naruto asked as he stood up, straightening his Chuunin vest. As Tsunade nodded with a dismissive gesture, Naruto smiled brightly at her before leaving the room.

Itachi still was a dangerous subject around Sasuke and Naruto would have to ask him about it with extreme caution.

After all, Sasuke left once before to seek out power. There was always the danger that Sasuke would one day go back to Orochimaru. And Tsunade was sure that there would be no return this time.

--

"You're sure you're okay?" Naruto asked worriedly as Team 7 walked out of Konoha's hospital. Sakura just sighed in annoyance as she ignored Naruto. He had asked that question ten times already and to be quite frank; it was getting on her nerves.

"If it isn't the bastard," Naruto suddenly sneered, making Sakura look up in confusion. Right in front of them, Sai passed them by without even sparing them a second glance. Sakura was used to this though, but Naruto – being the attention-seeking creature he was – couldn't stand it when Sai ignored him.

"Good evening, Sai," she greeted politely. She never really liked him, but it was against her ethics to be impolite to someone. The fact that he betrayed their team for a special mission from Danzou didn't help either.

Glancing at Sasuke, she could recognize that look in his eyes. After he had returned, Naruto told him about Sai and accidentally (or perhaps purposefully) blurted everything Sai had said about Sasuke. Needless to say, Sasuke didn't like the man after Naruto's explanation.

"Ugly," Sai greeted in response, plastering that fake smile on his lips. "Good evening."

"Don't call her ugly, bastard," Naruto gritted his teeth. Although it had been a year since they had worked together and Naruto had mature significantly in many ways, he still utterly despised Sai. Especially when he started insulting Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun," Sai ignored the now fuming Naruto as he greeted the Uchiha who stood in between Sakura and Naruto. They had met once before, after Sai's personal mission started, in Orochimaru's lair. The two didn't like each other from the start, but Sai tried. Sasuke however, was less forgiving when it came to Sai.

"Hn," Sasuke replied in a dignified manner, refusing to let Sai get the best of him.

Sakura had a vague feeling that something had happened between Sasuke and Sai, although both of them never mentioned a thing. But Sai being polite instead of giving Sasuke a nickname was a first; he had given everybody a nickname, or at least insulted them once or twice.

The ANBU Root member said nothing else as he continued walking, still ignoring the furious Kyuubi.

As soon as Sai had disappeared into the night, Naruto let out a deep sigh as he tried to calm himself down. Sai still got the best of him, no matter how hard he tried to ignore his taunts. Then again, perhaps Naruto shouldn't call him names and just act cool like Sakura did. As long as Sai didn't insult Sasuke, she could even handle the nicknames he had made up for her, ugly being his favorite.

But Naruto, being the alpha male after his training with Jiraiya, just couldn't ignore the fact that Sai actually joked about Naruto junior. It was unacceptable and he had grown a great disliking to the Root member because of that.

"Do you want us to walk you home Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked, flashing his usual grin.

"That won't be necessary," Sakura replied simply. "I'm a Chuunin now, remember?"

Naruto shot her a concerned look before he walked towards her, blocking her path effectively. "I know, but you know me," he said seriously. "I'm worried about you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled, touched by his words. In a spur of affection, she stood on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled him close. "Thank you, Naruto," she whispered in his ear before releasing him. She chuckled as she saw his cheeks turn red, while he grinned like an idiot. Turning around, she smiled at Sasuke, knowing that he wouldn't allow her to hug him. He lifted his hand in response, giving her a half-smirk before both he and Naruto parted.

Adjusting her forehead protector, Sakura calmly walked down the stairs and passed the gate that would lead her back to the main street. She politely greeted Neji as he passed her together with Shikamaru. Ever since the mission four years ago to retrieve Sasuke, all five participants had grown closer with each other. She was glad to see that their bonds were strong as ever, even after so many years.

Unfortunately, due her immense training program which required for her to be next to Tsunade's side for at least thirteen hours a day, Sakura hadn't really bonded with any of the Chuunin. Ino was probably the only girl in Konoha that she talked to.

Although, it didn't really bother Sakura that much. Her dream to become a strong kunoichi had come true and nothing was more satisfactory than knowing that she had been given a reputation as a kunoichi who had surpassed Tsunade herself. Inwardly smiling with that statement, Sakura continued walking towards her new apartment, silently thanking Shizune for cleaning up. After all that had been going on these past few hours, she would have been too tired and too emotional to deal with her ransacked home.

Stopping in front of her house, she began searching for her keys until she heard someone laughing from the inside. Eyes widening, she pressed her ear against the door, trying to hear who was inside. Checking the lock, she realized that someone had come in through the window.

Grinding her teeth together in unadulterated fury, she resolutely stuck her keys in the lock. Kicking the now unlocked door open, she found her childhood bully, Ami, standing there with a kunai in her hands as if she was about to carve something into the wall.

"Shit," the purple haired girl cursed as she noticed Sakura standing in the doorway. Sakura frowned as two other girls jumped out of the window, knowing that she wouldn't be able to catch up with them.

"How dare you," Sakura stepped inside of her house, inspecting the damage that Ami had inflicted upon her house. "What gives you the right to come into my house and wreck the entire place?" she spat out as she started to gather chakra in her hand. "Answer me!"

Ami blanched as Sakura stepped towards her with a furious expression in her eyes. She turned around to leave, but to no avail. Sakura was too fast for her and stood behind her before Ami even realized it. As Ami turned around, Sakura hit her as hard as she could, sending Ami flying through the open door until she landed in one of the bushes that surrounded Sakura's house.

She could hear Ami cursing loudly as she ran away, a satisfied grin adorning her lips as she closed the door. Checking the living room and her own room, she quickly came to the conclusion that nothing had been touched and that Ami and her friends had just started with her hallway. She made a mental note to hit her when she saw her again.

After looking over the entire house, Sakura opened a window before collapsing on her new bed. Amazed that Shizune had done so many things for her, she promised herself that she would pay every single cent back. She had even bought Sakura a new bed and new, pink towels.

Checking her alarm, she noticed that it was past midnight. Her gaze automatically slid from the clock to her most treasured picture. From behind the clear glass, her mother's face smiled at her.

Tears started to slide down her cheeks as she put the lights out, clutching a pillow in her hands as she lied down.

_It's been three years since you've died, mom…_

"You're crying," a deep voice drifted through the room, startling Sakura. Bolting upright, she tried to reach for a kunai when the voice continued. "Will you kill me kunoichi?"

As she tried to locate where the voice came from, her hand started to slide towards her lamp, determined to kill whoever had sneaked into her room. "Who are you?" she asked the darkness as green eyes scanned the room, waiting for someone to move.

Suddenly, the man in her room opened his eyes, revealing his blood-red Sharingan. Taken aback by this new revelation, Sakura moved backwards until her back was touching the wall. Memories of the previous night flooded her mind as she quickly realized what had happened.

"Uchiha Itachi," she whispered fearfully.

"You have not answered my question," Itachi said to her darkly.

Grabbing the handle of her kunai, she stared at the blazing Sharingan that watched her every movement. "What question?" she asked quietly.

In a flash, the eyes disappeared. Sakura had only one second to wonder if he had closed his eyes before she felt his hands pushing her down to the bed. The hand which held her kunai moved on reflex to slash at him, but it never got that far.

As his long, calloused fingers brushed over her wrist as they held her hand in an iron grip, refusing to let go as she struggled against him, trying to push him off. The feel of a kunai against her throat made her stop soon enough, oddly reminding her of her previous encounter with the Uchiha. "What do you want from me?" she whispered harshly.

"What I want," Itachi whispered against her ear. "Are answers."

"Answers to what?"

"Who trained you?" Itachi began calmly, kunai still pressing against her throat in a dangerous manner. "I saw you hitting that other girl. That strength isn't common."

"Tsunade, a member of the legendary sannin," Sakura mumbled.

Itachi remained quiet after if he were pondering over her answer. Sakura knew better though; a man with Uchiha Itachi's intelligence had already figured this out. No, he was pausing because he was carefully choosing his words.

His fingers were still clamped around her wrist as he pulled her arm towards him, obviously looking for something on her fingers.

She flinched as lighting hit not far from her house, illuminating Itachi's face momentarily. But what shocked her most, was that he seemed to be smirking as he inspected her hand carefully before prying the kunai loose from her warm hand. She contemplated holding onto the kunai, but knowing that he still had his own kunai on her throat quickly stopped her from doing so as she voluntarily gave him the kunai.

"Were you born here?" Itachi asked suddenly in that deep, muted voice of his. Faintly, she wondered if he was able raise his voice. Probably not.

"Yes," she managed to get out as Itachi removed the kunai from her throat. "Why are you asking me these things?"

Itachi amusedly looked down at her; she seemed to be shaking with fear. He had been observing her since her team walked out of the hospital, waiting for an opportunity to gauge her strength. It was pure luck that a girl was vandalizing her house, enabling Sakura to use her abilities. Now that he had seen her strength, he had been impressed. Never before had he seen such power.

The clouds that had previously been obscuring the moon finally drifted away, the moonlight streaming into Sakura's room through the open windows. At that precise moment, Itachi stood up, relinquishing his hold on her.

She could finally see the intense gaze in his eyes, the lines that ran over his cheeks and his long, black and red Akatsuki robes. His eyes were blank pages as before, but he seemed to be lost in thought as he stared at the kunoichi.

At a loss of what to do, Sakura remained completely quiet as she sat up straight. If Itachi wanted to kill her, he would have done so by now, but it seemed he wanted her alive for some reason; there was no other explanation for his behavior. Frightened because of her discovery, she watched Itachi without even blinking as he sat down on the chair that was positioned next to her bed.

"I apologize for entering your house without your permission," Itachi said almost casually.

Sakura felt as if her eyes would pop out of their sockets any time now. "Why have you come here?" she said quietly, eyes downcast. Curiosity was getting the best out of her, especially now that she had realized he wasn't there to kill her.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto suddenly yelled from the streets. Upon hearing the voice that meant her salvation, Sakura scrambled off the bed as fast as she could, determined to make Naruto hear her. Reaching the open window without any problems, Sakura turned around and found her chair empty, nothing indicating to the fact that a dangerous S-Class shinobi had been sitting there only moments ago.

--

"What is it Naruto?" she yelled back, eyes still fixed on her chair.

"Tsunade-baa-chan called in for you, we have an emergency," Naruto replied, the uneasy look in his eyes. "Danzou has betrayed Konoha and is sending Root ANBU towards Sand."

Immediately, Sakura jumped out of the window, Itachi long forgotten. "What?!" she uttered incredulously, starting to sprint towards the administration building together with Naruto. "If we send out ANBU towards Sand, they'll think we're attacking them!"

Naruto nodded as he gritted his teeth in frustration. Gaara was a good Kazekage and both he and Tsunade had established a great bond between the two countries, but if Konoha would attack Sand now, they would go to war.

Looking around, Sakura easily spotted Sasuke a few yards from them as he ran towards them. In front of her, the door to the Yamanaka flower shop opened and Ino dashed out together with Shikamaru and Chouji. And although she had not seen them yet, she was fairly certain that Kurenai's three-man cell and Gai's three-man cell were also heading towards the tower.

Entering the building, her suspicions were confirmed as she saw the other six standing there. Apparently, her teacher asked for them all to come.

Shizune stood there, dressed in her Jounin uniform as she directed Team 7 to sit down and wait for further instructions. Although she smiled at Sakura, she could clearly see the uncertainty and fear in Shizune's eyes.

"Everybody is here," Shizune said as she counted the members. "I'll get Tsunade-sama."

"What's going on?" Sasuke whispered to Sakura as he sat down next to her, adjusting his forehead protector. She glanced at him, taking in his alert but sleepy eyes. "You were asleep?"

"Hm," Sasuke replied, keeping his eyes on Shizune.

"Who woke you up?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Naruto, he woke me first before going to your house," Sasuke answered as his gaze shifted towards the door that was opening.

"I see," Sakura answered. "Danzou sent out Root ANBU members to Sand as an assault."

"Great," Sasuke sighed before lifting his head to see Tsunade walking into the room. The entire room fell silent as the Fifth sat down on one of the chairs, a serious expression in her eyes as she whispered something to Shizune, who promptly left.

"As you all know by now," Tsunade started, immediately capturing everyone's attention. "Danzou has sent all Root ANBU members to Sand so that he can instigate an attack against Sand, making them believe that Konoha wants to take Sand over."

"I've called you here because I want to form four main groups," Tsunade continued after a short pause. "Every team here has been together since the Genin days and all of you are in tune with your team mates."

"Excuse me," Shikamaru raised his hand. "Shouldn't the Jounin teachers be here as well?"

"No, we need three man cells for this," Tsunade said to him, urging him to sit down with her hand. "Every individual team will have another task and I trust all of you to complete the missions to the fullest so that we can avoid a massive war."

At that moment, Shizune appeared next to Tsunade, holding a piece of paper in her hands. She gave the paper to Tsunade who glanced at it before nodding curtly. "Shizune will continue from here."

The dark-haired medic nodded before stepped forward. "If I say the name of your team, raise your hands. Team 3."

Neji's team raised their hands simultaneously and Shizune gave them a weak smile. "You will go to the Hidden Village of Mist and ask them if they're going to ally themselves with either Leaf or Sand. If they don't want to ally with both of us, try to persuade the Mizukage to help us out in case of a war."

The three nodded slowly as they memorized their mission. "Team 10?"

Asuma's three-man cell looked up before raising their hands as well. Sakura could clearly see Ino's hand shaking violently as she thrust her fist in the air. "Your mission is similar to Team 3's mission, yet you'll be going to Stone."

"Team 8," Shizune offered Kiba's team a half-smile. "Same mission, but you'll be going to Cloud. Teams 3, 8 and 10 are to leave now."

Nine shinobi nodded in response before disappearing from the room, leaving only Team 7 behind. By now, Sakura had figured out that they were going to Sunagakure; there was no other country of relevance left. Sasuke had a smug smile adorning his lips while Naruto actually seemed happy to go.

"Team 7," Tsunade stood up, a worried expression in her eyes. "I deemed you the most capable team of going to Sand, especially because Gaara will listen to you, Naruto. Your mission will be to enlighten Gaara about Danzou's treason and try to persuade him not to attack Leaf."

"What if he tries to kill us?" Sakura asked quietly, staring at her mentor.

"Leave at once and come back to Konoha," the Sannin replied without a second thought. "But Gaara is a good Kazekage. I'm fairly certain that he'll listen to your story; he's only looking for Sand's best interest."

"We know," Naruto assured her. "Have you tried notifying them?

"We tried," Tsunade replied bitterly. "Our messengers were murdered before they could even leave the country."

"We won't get killed," Sakura tried to calm her mentor down as she flashed a smile. "Gaara trusts Naruto; everything will work out fine."

"Right." Tsunade didn't sound convinced. "You're free to go."

They nodded before standing up and leaving the room wordlessly as they mused over their mission. Tsunade just watched their backs as she saw how her favorite team – although she would never admit it – left towards almost certain death.

"Be careful," she whispered as the door closed behind them.

--

_**A/N: **__I'm aware of Sai's sudden change in the manga chapters, but this was written before Sai truly changed, so I'm sorry if he's OOC now. I still like him more this way than the softy he is now._

_Love to Stem for betaing this chapter!_

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	3. Chapter 3

Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story

**Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story**

**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **__This chapter… so late…_

**Chapter Three – Dissonance**

"You are not bringing that with you!" Sakura stated firmly as she snatched the cups of instant ramen out of Naruto's bag. "You need room in your bag for bandages, extra kunai and weapons!"

"But Sakura-chan!" Naruto protested while pouting.

"Just hurry up and finish packing, we need to go now!" Sakura replied mercilessly.

Naruto gave one last, heart-breaking look as he sighed and continued packing his extra clothing and weapons. Sakura turned around and gave the ramen cups to Sasuke who had been silent throughout the entire argument. He blankly stared at the cups before looking up, obviously at a loss of what to do.

"Put them back for me while I'll check what Naruto packs, okay?" Sakura asked gently.

"Hm." Sasuke turned around and stalked to the small kitchen in the back of Naruto's tiny apartment.

She smiled slightly as she watched the Uchiha walk away, wondering how willingly he was in the morning when he was half-awake. She felt sorry for him. According to Naruto, he hadn't slept much during the mission and he hadn't slept during the night that she stayed in the Uchiha mansion. He had probably not slept much before Naruto woke him up for this mission as well.

"I feel sorry for Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered to Naruto.

"Why?" Naruto asked obliviously as he stood up, heaving his backpack on his back.

"He didn't have much sleep this night either, right?" Sakura said quietly.

"Don't worry," Naruto smiled gently. "Sasuke can go on for days without sleep before he truly passes out. You remember the Forest of Death right?"

"Yeah…" Sakura remembered. Shinobi from Sound had murdered a team from Rain and took their place. Their goal was to take Sasuke back to Orochimaru.

They had found out about the imposters during the first day. Sasuke didn't go to sleep during the second, third and fourth day, afraid that they might attack when all three of them slept.

It wasn't as if Sasuke didn't trust the both of them. He probably trusted Naruto and Sakura most; he was just afraid that something might happen to them and he only trusted himself to stay awake.

"Besides, he's so paranoid that he'll wake up every five seconds anyway," Naruto said as he stared at her, trying to comfort her with his words.

"I heard that," Sasuke's soft voice sounded from behind her.

She smiled as she turned around to face Sasuke. He was leaning against the threshold; hand in his pockets as he smiled amusedly. She also immediately spotted the tiredness in his eyes that had seemed to intensify ever since the meeting.

She tried to open her mouth but Sasuke cut her off. "Don't tell me that we're going to take it slow just because I didn't get enough sleep as of lately."

"Sasuke…" Naruto started.

"This mission is important," Sasuke started icily. "We'll not risk any chance of another invasion because of me."

"Okay," Sakura smiled, ignoring the small protesting sounds Naruto was making.

Sasuke didn't believe in himself. Sasuke thought he was weak and he was afraid that he might succumb to darkness again if he would fail another time. Sakura knew that Sasuke thought he was worthless; to her, he was her knight in shining armor, but Sasuke wasn't a knight.

He wasn't perfect, like she had first assumed.

He was _human_.

He smirked at her in that arrogant way of his before lifting his backpack on his shoulder and turned around.

Naruto stared at her, obviously confused and oblivious to what had just happened, but one look of Sakura made him comprehend the entire situation and slowly the confused look turned into one happy grin as he followed Sakura and Sasuke out of his house.

--

Miles flew away beneath them as they made their way through the dark forest that surrounded the village of Konoha. They were aware of the large amount of ANBU that strolled through the forest; they had spotted them numerous times already.

It seems Tsunade didn't want to risk anything and had quickly dispatched most of the ANBU members to deal with possible enemy attacks.

Sakura wasn't so sure if her mentor made a wise decision with doing that.

She sighed as she looked up at her teammates that jumped from branch to branch in front of them. She noticed the way that Sasuke's wide blue shirt would ride up every time he jumped up, showing off a slight strip of porcelain colored skin that matched the color of his face.

It was amazing how light his skin was; it seemed that it never changed. Not even after spending days in the hot sun. It almost seemed as if Sasuke was even untouchable by the sun.

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled as she entertained herself with that thought before discarding it.

They were on an important mission; not some easy D-Rank mission where she could think about Sasuke's condition all day long or make up theories about how much gel he probably had to use to spike his hair up. She wasn't twelve anymore.

"Watch out," Sasuke's deep voice awoke her from her thoughts.

That's when she felt the killer intent and the bloodlust surrounding them.

There were many shinobi, she was sure of that. At least ten, maybe more.

Her green eyes focused on the ones nearest to them and from the corners of her eyes, she could see Sasuke withdrawing a kunai from his holster while Naruto opted for the shuriken.

Feeling that they were nearing her, Sakura started to accumulate chakra in her hands, preparing herself for battle.

They stopped in the middle of a clearing and jumped down from the trees. Assuming formation, they pressed their backs against each other, all three of them holding a weapon in their hands as the Sand shinobi descended and surrounded them.

"Chuunin," Sasuke whispered to them, recognizing the Chuunin uniforms from Sand.

"Equally leveled?" Sakura asked gently while keeping an eye on the enemy.

"Weaker," Naruto responded this time.

"Attack!" one of the enemy shinobi wearing a mask called out and Sakura's head snapped to the right as she faintly recognized the voice, but was unable to place it.

She watched as they started running to the trio, determined to kill and enter the Fire country even further, but they never got that far.

Various ANBU appeared out of seemingly nowhere, stopping them mid-way as they quickly disposed of the enemy shinobi. Only the leader of the Sand group stood still and as the ANBU from Leaf turned to face him, he quickly turned away and fled from the scene, several ANBU following him.

The ANBU that stood in front of Sakura turned around. He was wearing a porcelain mask in the shape of a dog.

"You three are going to Sand?" he asked, voice muffled by the heavy mask.

"Yes," Sasuke replied. "Can we go?"

The ANBU nodded and watched as the three Chuunin ran off towards their goal.

Behind his mask, Kakashi sighed, saddened, before following his ANBU team.

Tsunade had issued most of the retired ANBU leaders to re-join ANBU for the moment and protect the four teams that would leave the Fire Country that night in order to bring peace to Konoha.

Albeit grudgingly, Kakashi had agreed to go, but he had never expected Tsunade to send the Chuunin groups.

At the very least, he had expected to see some more experienced Jounin.

Tsunade had definitely disappointed him.

But his team would come back; he was sure of that.

--

"So basically," the man with red hair spoke up. "You want us missing-nin to form an organization and then hunt down these… demons."

"That's ridiculous… yeah," the blond shinobi Itachi spotted earlier spoke up in a deep voice. "Why would I leave my village for something like that? Not all of us are missing nin, we're still taking the exam."

Itachi glanced around the group, finding that more people agreed with the two that had just spoken. He found himself secretly agreeing with them, although he was quite tempted by the man's offer for some strange reason.

Power was something he always wanted; something he needed to prove his worth with.

"And what kind of power," Itachi said quietly. "Can you possibly offer us?"

"I'll reseal the demons inside of you," the man said stoically. "You will all gain tremendous power. Each Bijuu has his own powers and you'll all be able to hunt down one of those Bijuu, take them with you and I shall reseal it into your bodies."

"And what would you gain when we get stronger?" a man with slick, light hair said as he sat down on the branch next to Itachi.

"My purpose is to form the strongest organization alive," the man whispered. "Of course, I'll be hunting one Bijuu down as well."

"And why would we leave our villages?"

"Because you're geniuses. All of you want the same goal; to get away from expectations, from a world where excelling is necessary. Where geniuses are supposedly needed," he said. "I will not expect anything of you. I will not bind you to one village for the rest of your lives."

It remained quiet after that statement and Itachi was positive that he wasn't the only one contemplating this offer.

If he left with this man, he would be free. His father would never send him on those tedious S-Class missions again; he would never have to witness that smile that his mother put up in front of him to hide the fact that she truly didn't understand him.

He would be free from Sasuke who was so demanding, who wanted to be like him.

Who just didn't understand that this life was hard.

"However…"

"However?" the shark man rasped.

"There are two conditions…"

--

Surprisingly enough, after the first encounter with the Sand shinobi that the ANBU from Leaf had driven away, there were no more attacks and team seven could pass through the border that led to the River Country without encountering any problems.

Sasuke had estimated that they would reach Sand in two days if they would hurry.

Fortunately enough, Sunagakure did not lie far from the border to the Wind Country and if they were lucky, they might be able to reach the village with only light battles. From there on in, things would be difficult.

Assuming that Gaara had given the order to kill on sight, they might have to try and battle their way through an endless stream of various ranked shinobi. The other option they had was to cast a genjutsu on the three of them to make sure they would be invisible and they could get over the wall then.

After that, it would be a matter of reaching the Kazekage's headquarters and hope that Gaara had remained calm and collected so that he would listen to their story.

However…

If Gaara chooses not to listen to them… Sakura was sure that they wouldn't make it back to Konoha.

They stopped when night began to fall. Finding a place to camp was easy. Although Naruto had first complained why they couldn't sleep in an inn, Sasuke had explained, half-irritated, that Sand shinobi might find them easily.

Sakura didn't mind. She preferred the forest more than the small cities that were scattered around the River country.

As the small campfire Sasuke made started to warm the three Chuunin up, Sakura took a moment to observe the ever-alert Uchiha. She immediately spotted the dark circles underneath his eyes and the way that his eyelids seemed to heavy that he had to fight to keep them open.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered quietly.

Immediately, Sasuke's head snapped up and he stared at her, eyes widened. It took a moment for him to realize that nothing was the matter and he seemed to relax somewhat as he took in the form of the roseate kunoichi.

"What is it Sakura?" he asked, tone implicating impatience.

"Go to sleep," she directed gently. "Naruto and I will stand guard for a couple of hours."

Sasuke just stared back at her with those mesmerizing dark eyes of his. "No."

She sighed, preparing for a verbal battle with him which she wouldn't forfeit until he would just give in and go to sleep. But surprisingly enough, Naruto stepped in.

"She's right," the blond said calmly. "Go to sleep, you're of no use to us when you're about to fall asleep."

For a second, Sasuke glared at Naruto but soon the glare vanished and Sasuke uttered an amused sound before standing up, dusting his white shorts off before stalking off to a tree, mere meters away from the camp fire.

He said nothing, just glanced around the area before hesitatingly closing his eyes.

"How did you do that?" Sakura whispered incredulously.

"Hit Sasuke's weak spot," Naruto grinned as he turned his fish above the fire, whining slightly as he burned his hand.

She chuckled slightly as Naruto turned around and stared at her, pouting slightly. "Sakura-chan?"

Sakura smiled before taking Naruto's hand into hers, quietly activating one of her medical jutsu as she healed Naruto's burn. Sakura healed Naruto's sigh of relief as her cool chakra spilled over his hand.

"It's better now Sakura-chan," he said after a quiet moment. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sakura said softly as she smiled back at the cerulean-eyed boy.

He smiled that trademark smile of his before turning back towards the fire, gently grabbing the stick that was pierced through his fish before sitting down on the floor next to Sakura.

"Sasuke-kun is asleep," Sakura reported after tuning into Sasuke's chakra. It seemed sedated and peaceful and as she listened to him, she hadn't missed the fact that his breathing had deepened and steadied.

"Yeah, but he'll be awake soon enough," Naruto said before swallowing his bite. "You know him; he'll even catch a squirrel approaching him from a one kilometer radius."

Sakura chuckled lightly, enjoying this rare moment of piece during the mission as she grabbed the bottle of water she had packed. Finding it empty, she sighed slightly, mind scanning over the vicinity before recalling a small spring close by.

"I'm going to fill up my bottle," Sakura whispered. Naruto stared back, discomfort of the thought of leaving her alone obviously haunting him, but he glanced at her hands first, obviously recalling her strong punch before nodding.

"Be careful," Naruto said calmly, before taking another bite of his dinner.

She smiled as she stood up; adjusting her kunai pouch before dashing off towards the spring she had seen before, hoping that she would encounter no-one.

--

She felt like she had been running aimlessly for hours in a row before finally hearing the familiar sound of running water. Sakura sighed in relief as she started to sprint to the source.

As soon as she reached the clearing and the small spring, Inner Sakura did a little dance as she walked towards the stream, preparing her bottle. Bending over slightly, she stuck the bottle into the water, enjoying the way the freezing water numbed her hands.

Until she tensed up when she felt someone watching her.

Acting as if she hadn't noticed anything at all, she stood up as the bottle was filled, closing the bottle and sighed in relief as she couldn't find any hostile chakra levels near her. The feeling that someone was watching her was gone, thankfully and she smiled slightly.

At the exact moment when she tried to turn around, the presence appeared behind her and she froze. Whether her attacker had paralyzed her of she had frozen up because of the fear was unknown to her, but she couldn't move as she felt another body pressed up against her.

And then a rich, deep voice spoke up. The tone of the man's voice was familiar, calm, smooth, tinged with both arrogance and humor as his lips neared her ear.

"They're coming."

She whirled around, grabbing a kunai from her pouch and lashed out, only to find out that the man had disappeared and she was standing alone in the clearing.

For a moment, she looked around the vicinity, watching as the leaf on the ground danced as a small breeze passed by. Then, the words of the man entered her consciousness and she hurriedly accumulated chakra to her feet as she dashed back to the camping site; the bottle of water completely forgotten.

--

From a far distance, she could hear the distinctive sound of the Chidori, long before she could even spot the blue chakra moving. She heard Naruto yelling and immediately felt another surge of chakra coming up.

_Rasengan_, she noted for herself as she doubled her speed before finally reaching the clearing.

Various Sand shinobi were scattered around them, and in the middle, Sasuke and Naruto stood back to back, the Rasengan and the Chidori activated.

She only saw Sasuke's face, his teeth gritted and his Sharingan blazing while the Chidori's gently light-blue glow illuminated his face. Momentarily, she stopped, just to watch the interesting man he had became, before he moved towards their enemy.

Amazed, she watched him as he avoided his enemy, his movements becoming like a dance to her. She was completely enthralled and amazed that Sasuke made such movements.

Before he went to Orochimaru, he had a rather blunt way of attacking.

It seemed that now he came back, his movements had a certain air of grace that was certainly fitting to the Uchiha. She watched him as his hair moved with every movement and as his shirt rode up when he jumped into the air.

Then, a Sand shinobi rudely awoke her from her observation as he jumped in front of her, kunai poised in his hand. Abruptly, Sakura moved out of the way and gathered chakra in her hand before landing one good punch on their adversary, cracking his skull successfully.

Another shinobi followed and Sakura moved away as she gracefully spun around her enemy, throwing several shuriken into his direction and turned away as she saw the shuriken hit target and her adversary plummeted lifelessly towards the ground.

From the corners of her eyes, she saw Naruto's Kage Bunshin handle another batch of shinobi and from her left; she could clearly hear the Chidori.

Two Sand nin doomed up in front of her, kunai poised in their hands as they rushed towards her. Hastily, she grabbed a kunai from her pouch and crouched down into her defensive position, kunai positioned in front of her.

Someone appeared next to her, and although she couldn't see him, she knew by his distinctive chakra signature that it was Naruto.

"Move!" she heard Sasuke shout from behind her. Completely trusting her teammate, she jumped to the right while Naruto moved to the left, successfully avoiding the two incoming shinobi and the kunai with the explosive tag that Sasuke had thrown.

The explosive behind her was enough to take out the two nin and create a small explosion of dirt all around them, staining her hair and face with mud.

As the smoke started to clear, she saw that Naruto had gone through the same process as he wiped the dirt away from his face with an aggravated look before he shot a glare into the Uchiha's direction.

She chuckled lightly as she mimicked Naruto's gesture, trying to make herself as presentable as possible before standing up, dusting off her clothes as she walked towards the dark-haired youth that was staring at Naruto in that usual blank manner of his.

"You thought that was funny?" she heard Naruto scream at Sasuke.

The corners of Sasuke's mouth quirked into a smirk as he pocketed his hands. He stared at Sakura for a moment, observing her form momentarily to check if she was injured before moving his gaze away again.

She smiled slightly.

"I liked the present Sasuke-kun," she said, voice tinged with humor as she searched her pockets for a tissue. She was rewarded with the same smirk Naruto had been given and smiled back at him as she pulled out the small piece of cloth she found in one of her pockets.

Eyeing it warily, she quickly wiped her face off, smiling as Naruto starting ranting to Sasuke about the dangers of using explosive tags with teammates in the vicinity while Sasuke seemed to be ignoring the blonde as he stared at something in the distance.

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked simply as she saw the Uchiha still staring at the same spot, eyes squinted as if he saw something.

"… No," Sasuke shrugged.

"Are you listening to me?" Naruto sighed heavily.

Sasuke just shot Naruto a glare before he turned around, walking calmly past the bodies of the Sand shinobi before grabbing his backpack that still rested against the tree.

Meanwhile, Sakura stared into the direction she came from.

Someone told her what was happening and had disappeared as soon as he came. The voice was still playing over and over in her head as her brilliant mind analyzed the deep tone over and over again, trying to remember if she had heard it before.

And there was something else bugging her about the three words the person had uttered.

"Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto said, interrupting her train of thoughts as he moved his hand in front of her eyes, trying to capture her attention.

She looked up at his worried cerulean eyes and smiled lightly, the words still playing over and over in her head. "I'm sorry Naruto, what did you say?"

"I asked you if you were alright," Naruto's brow creased somewhat, still gazing at her as if the answers would appear on her forehead.

"I'm fine… I was just thinking about something," Sakura replied cryptically.

"Sasuke, didn't one of the kunai hit your arm?" Naruto switched the subject, walking towards the Uchiha as Sasuke walked towards them.

"It's a minor cut," Sasuke answered apathetically.

"Let me look at it," Sakura said sternly. "It might infect later on."

"It's not necessary," Sasuke heaved his backpack on his shoulder, ignoring the small stinging he felt in his right hand. "It barely nicked it, I'll bandage it later but we should get out of here before more come."

_They're coming…_

Finally, the full meaning behind the words hit her and as she finally realized that various chakra levels were nearing them at high speed, she opened up her mouth, only to be cut off as she saw a kunai hit Naruto's back.

His bright blue eyes widened as he stumbled forward, teeth gritting in an obvious attempt not to scream out in pain. Her team mate fell onto his knees, unable to walk any further.

Shuriken and kunai started flying around them and from the right of her, she could clearly hear Sasuke engage in battle but Naruto was still down on the ground and hit by another shuriken in the shoulder while a senbon flew past him and created a small gash on his cheek.

_Why isn't he moving! Naruto!_

Scared for her best friend's life, she abandoned ration and ran towards her fallen teammate, grabbing a kunai from the pouch that was strapped on her leg.

Managing to avoid most of the incoming objects, except a senbon which hit her in the thigh and a shuriken that nearly tore a huge hole in her shirt, she reached Naruto, quickly glancing at his back, yet not being surprised anymore as she realized that the wounds were half-healed already and Naruto wasn't in direct danger of losing his life.

Finally, the rain of weapons stopped and she felt Sasuke's back pressing against her while he panted harshly. Naruto groaned harshly before he pushed himself off the ground, wiping away from of the blood that coated his cheek crimson.

Quickly counting the number of enemies, Sakura's eyes widened as she realized that they were up against at least twenty shinobi.

They were overpowered and there was nothing that could help them now.

She trembled slightly, knowing that both Sasuke and Naruto would do anything to survive. Even if Naruto had to activate his tails and Sasuke had to activate his cursed seal, although he had sworn never to use it again.

For a moment, it was quiet as the Sand shinobi surrounded them; the only sound noticeable was the wind howling while the leaf on the ground rustled.

Then, one of the Sand shinobi screamed before he fell down.

Startled, they all looked into the man's direction as he lied on the floor, blood slowly streamed from under his body. Shocked, they stared at the man, before realizing that several kunai were sticking out of his back.

The Sand shinobi stirred before moving towards them, but a large form stopped them from nearing the three Chuunin any further.

"Kisame!" Naruto screamed, obviously recognizing the Akatsuki member that had appeared before them.

She inhaled sharply as she realized that another familiar chakra signature was coming closer.

Knowing that Sasuke would disappear any second now to fight his older brother, Sakura tried to sign Naruto that Itachi was nearing, but the blonde was only focused on the shark-man that stood in front of them with a malicious smile gracing his lips.

He looked to some point behind them then and suddenly, the warmth that Sasuke's back was radiating was gone. She heard the Chidori howl as the younger Uchiha ran towards his older brother, hell bent on getting his revenge, whether they were up against twenty Sand shinobi or not.

It took her by surprise that he would attack Itachi without even feeling the need to say something to him, but she supposed that words were unnecessary when it came to the both of them. They had talked enough during their last encounter, Naruto had told her as much.

"Sasuke!" Naruto screamed desperately, staring as the scene behind them unfolded.

Sakura whirled around, paying no more attention to Kisame as Sasuke attacked his brother.

The only thing she could hear in that instant was the Chidori, Naruto screaming his name vaguely and Kisame, muttering something from behind her. The entire scene looked ethereal to her, the blue chakra from Sasuke's deadliest attack illuminating the elder Uchiha's face brightly.

She felt Kisame move away from them, undoubtedly handling some of the Sand shinobi that took the distraction as the signal to attack.

Sasuke lashed out and for a moment, there was nothing.

Then, blood stained the grass around the two Uchiha and for a moment, she remained completely quiet as she realized that Sasuke had actually hit Itachi. Naruto ran towards Sasuke as his best friend withdrew the hand that had seemingly pierced through Itachi.

_This… isn't right… Something's wrong…_

And she was proved right as Itachi's face deformed and he turned into an older man with a small beard and the forehead protector of Sand.

Both Naruto and Sasuke seemed to realize something as they turned into her direction, eyes widened.

It took her a moment to realize that someone was standing behind her and that his arm was moved around her neck, successfully stopping her from even attempting to struggle against him, knowing that he could break her neck in a second of he wanted to.

Everything that happened afterwards was just a blur to her as Itachi quickly pressed one of the pressure points in her neck and she fainted, unable to move anymore.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled loudly, running towards her, but it was already too late.

Forming a couple of seals with his left hand, Itachi and Sakura suddenly vanished into thin air.

"Itachi!" Sasuke screamed out, Sharingan blazing as he scanned the vicinity, only to find out that it wasn't a Genjutsu; his brother wasn't there anymore.

Kisame turned around as soon as he felt Itachi completely disappear from the area before grinning to Naruto and Sasuke who were running towards him; both an intent to kill in their eyes.

He wasted no second and formed a couple of seals as he activated the explosive tags he had scattered around. The last thing he saw before everything exploded was the look of pure shock on Naruto and Sasuke's faces as everything exploded violently.

--

Several miles away, Kisame released his jutsu on the unfortunate Sand shinobi he had killed and used so that he could create the distraction that would hopefully prevent Sasuke and Naruto from chasing them.

Itachi jumped on top of the rock Kisame was sitting on, glancing towards the shark-man as he tightened his hold on the roseate kunoichi, gesturing with his head that they should go on.

Kisame just nodded and followed the younger Akatsuki member wordlessly.

--

_**A/N: **I apologize for this belated chapter. I had a lot of things on my head and stuff, and a huge writers block but it seems that my muses have (finally) returned!_

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_Love to Stem for being the beta from heaven._

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	4. Chapter 4

**Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story**

**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **Wow, it was so hard to write the particular chapter. Thank you all so much for your support in your reviews and PMs and such. It keeps the muse inside of me working hard and drives me to write more and more!_

**Chapter Four – Ominous**

He gasped for air as he fought his way out of the dirt and mud that had piled upon him during the explosion. Panting harshly, he pushed himself up, rubbing away the sand from his eyes as he coughed violently, his cerulean eyes scanning the perimeter to check if there was any sign of Sakura.

There wasn't.

Sasuke was standing in front of him, covered in dirt as well, fists balled as he vigilantly looked around, obviously searching for both his pink haired team-mate as well as his older brother.

He turned around as Naruto started walking towards him, the vindictive look in his eyes clear, frightening the blond somewhat as he realized how akin it was to the same look he received years ago, when they fought in the Valley of the End as he turned into… no.

Naruto shook his head. His primary concern right now was Sakura. Sasuke was Sasuke and his eyes will forever be filled with malice if they'd even just mention Itachi's name. However, this time, the hatred in the midnight blue pools that belonged to Sasuke were mirrored in his own as he wordlessly scanned the vicinity, trying to find something that belonged to Sakura, whether it was a chakra level or just a mere whiff of her scent.

"She's not here anymore," Sasuke spoke finally, in a low, dangerous voice.

Naruto nodded as he gritted his teeth until it hurt and balled his fists as he tried to stop shaking uncontrollably. Desperation took over from there.

They had two options now and neither of them were favorable.

The first one was the option of leaving Sakura be for now and prevent the full-out war that was imminent. If they didn't reach Sand before Gaara would dispatch an attack force of his own, they'd go into war and they would fail their mission; killing dozens of shinobi who would have to be sent out to the front lines.

The second was to go after Sakura.

Though Naruto wanted to choose this option with all his heart, he knew that by doing so, both Sasuke and Sakura would be put in potential danger. Sakura would be safe for the time-being, Naruto was sure of this. She was a highly-skilled kunoichi, and if Itachi wanted her dead, he would have killed her in the Uchiha mansion.

Still…

The thought of never seeing his best friend again was killing him. He went through this with Sasuke, should he do the same when it came to Sakura? Should he let her go although he wanted to go after her until his body would give in?

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, lowering his head somewhat. "Go to Sand, I'll chase Sakura and Itachi."

The Uchiha turned his head to face him, a puzzled look in his eyes before the maddening look in his eyes died away a little. "No, you go."

Naruto panted harshly, angered as he realized that Sasuke didn't see the danger. That he was still pondering more about his revenge than Sakura's well-being. If Naruto went there, he'd get Sakura and get out of there. But Sasuke would stay and fight. Sasuke could die, all for this pitiful and useless vendetta against his brother.

"Sasuke," he started, but Sasuke raised his hand to silence him.

"Gaara doesn't like me," he spoke clearly, calmly. "You're the best chance we have to get through to him."

"But!" Naruto protested.

"Itachi is my goal," Sasuke proceeded to say, not even blinking once as he stared at Naruto. "I told you about this a long time ago; this is my revenge. I'm an avenger."

"Sakura's life is more important than your revenge," Naruto said icily. "This is why I can't let you go."

"Sakura is important to me too," the Sharingan user said after a tense pause. "She's a team-mate, and… a friend."

"How do you suppose you could protect her from Kisame while you're off battling Itachi? What if you _die_ Sasuke? What happens to her then?" Naruto hissed.

"I would get her out first," Sasuke answered apathetically. "I wouldn't want her around while I fight Itachi. The problem here is you. Can _you_ make it to Gaara without being killed in the process?"

Naruto contemplated the entire scenario for a second, hesitantly looking into the direction in which they were headed. "I can."

He turned back to Sasuke. "You'd better come back alive, and hold a breathing Sakura in your hands."

Sasuke smirked for a brief second, before he turned around and left, seemingly knowing instinctively which way to go. Naruto sighed deeply, hoping he made the right choice and praying that they'd both return to him as he jumped on top of one of the branches, dusted himself off before he continued his journey to Sand.

--

"Now what?" Kisame asked easily as he sat down across the table from Itachi, eyeing the younger shinobi as he took a bite from his apple.

"We wait," Itachi said after swallowing the bite.

"For what?"

"Sand shinobi left to Konoha to retaliate against the attacks from Konoha earlier," Itachi explained lazily. "If we go now, we'd have to battle countless Sand nin before we'd reach the border to the Fire Country."

Kisame, who had been searching for something under the papers that were scattered over the table, looked up, puzzled. "The Fire Country?"

"We're going to leave her near the border, where ANBU circle," Itachi explained, taking another bite. "I've yet to persuade her to join me."

"Itachi-san," Kisame growled lightly, a puzzled look in his eyes. "Isn't she the team-mate of your brother? I don't see how you're going to _persuade_ her in the first place."

Itachi slowly turned to face him, his piercing, deep-red eyes eyeing Kisame with some distaste. The shinobi from Mist tried not to feel intimidated, but truthfully, he did.

Itachi was someone to be feared. Though being a decade younger, the Uchiha was in incredibly talented shinobi, perhaps even one of the strongest members of Akatsuki. Not only did Itachi's intelligence exceed his, so did his techniques.

Occasionally, Kisame would feel jealous, but he put himself over that. It was inevitable that there were shinobi who were younger and better than him, but nonetheless, it felt bitter to know that he had to follow Itachi's orders and would get killed if he disobeyed.

"It's none of your business, Kisame," Itachi stated in his expressionless voice.

The elder shinobi made a sound akin to amusement as he found his scrolls back underneath the pile of paperwork. "It seems either Zetsu or me will be the last ones left then."

The Uchiha choose not to answer, just finished his apple before curtly standing up. As he stepped away from the table, he threw the core into the bin and then proceeded to leave the room.

--

When she woke up, she was sure this was bad.

Though the room she was in was shrouded in darkness and she couldn't see much farther than one foot ahead of her, she was sure this was very bad news. Especially since the recollections of Itachi whisking her away were starting to flood her memory and she realized that she was now within the confinement of the Uchiha.

She tried to control her breathing as she edged towards the side of the bed, wanting to get off as soon as she could, not knowing what would await her if she'd stay there.

As soon as her feet touched the freezing floor, she shivered involuntarily before standing up. But as she moved another inch to step away from the bed, Itachi's voice drifted through the room: "Don't move."

A light clicked on and as the gentle light illuminated the room, she saw Itachi sitting in a chair, his long legs stretched while he held his forehead protector in his hands.

"Sit," he commanded quietly, as if speaking loudly was impossible for him.

She slowly took a few steps backward until she felt the rough texture of her sheets against her legs and sat down, knowing that he might just kill her right then and there.

He quickly inspected her for any wounds. As he warned her while she was refilling her water bottle, she didn't seem to have any apparent injuries and during the fight, she had stood her own, but there was always a chance that he had missed something.

Except for messy bed-hair and tired eyes that wanted to create the illusion that she was perfectly awake and not still suffering from pure exhaustion, she looks perfectly fine.

"What do you want with me?" she asked weakly, half numbed because of the cold and the fear and half outraged by Itachi kidnapping her. "I don't understand…"

Her voice was weak and her entire façade was falling down, unmasking her as the weak kunoichi she still was inwardly. She was strong and capable, but she was separated from her friends, perhaps even miles away from them and in the hands of a ruthless killer. There was no way she could escape Itachi's clutches, and in no way could she tear her eyes away from Itachi's blood-red gaze.

His eyes were searching hers momentarily and she held in her breath as he leaned closer. Itachi seemed almost amused to her as he slowly blinked.

When he re-opened his eyes, the crimson Sharingan had faded and instead, his eyes were like Sasuke's. Deep blue, almost black even.

"Answer me," Sakura said then, almost comforted by the fact that the piercing Sharingan was now replaced with a color that was so familiar to it. After a split second, Sakura fully realized this was Itachi she was talking to, not Sasuke.

"I got you out of the battle," Itachi answered simply, leaning back in his wooden chair. He cocked his head ever so slightly, seeming almost innocent with his black eyes on her. "I had warned you we were coming."

"Why did you?"

The corners of his mouth curled a little. "A chase is more fun when the prey is aware of its hunter."

Sakura blinked. "Naruto is the prey, I'm the bait and you're the hunter, I suppose?"

Her heart pounded hard in her chest, making it feel unusually constricted as Itachi rose from his chair and took a step towards her. And then, in that deep soft voice of his, he said: "On the contrary, Sakura-san. You are the prey."

Deep inside of her, something exploded. Her heart was pounding so quickly and so hard that she was afraid she might get a heart attack, but it all stopped to matter as she jumped off the bed, chakra accumulated into her fist, ready to strike the arrogant Uchiha with all she had.

He avoided her easily; a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes played around his lips as he vigorously kicked Sakura in the stomach. The blow came hard to her as she rolled away, feeling bitter bile surging up through her throat and her mouth until it landed on the cool stones of her floor.

Along with the bitter agony of her quick defeat came tears that she thought were hidden for so many years. After so much training, someone can get her on her knees with just one kick. It was agonizing to her, as she fought down another wave of nausea, that Itachi was watching her sitting on the floor helplessly.

A mixture of sweat and salty tears coated her cheeks when she looked up to meet his eyes. He had reverted back to Sharingan and was staring down at her, absolutely no emotion to be read in his eyes.

"You should clean that up, considering this will be your home for quite a while," Itachi directed with absolutely no hint of amusement or any other state of mind. He observed her for a moment longer and then walked out of the room without even making a sound.

Someone spoke to him outside and Itachi's answer was quiet to the point that she couldn't even make out the words.

The door shut and seconds later she heard the click of the lock closing.

It was then that she realized that Itachi had a partner and that he was the one standing behind them on the battlefield.

Naruto and Sasuke flashed before her eyes and she resisted heaving. Fighting back the tears that threatened to spill, Sakura unleashed all of her rage into gathering chakra to her hand.

With a yell that could match Sasuke and Naruto's best, she punched the wall.

It exploded into a million little pieces and someone from the other side of the wall cursed madly. As soon as the dust cleared and the last pieces of debris fell down, Sakura stepped through, teeth gritted until it hurt, her fist ready for another punch that would make Tsunade proud of her.

She stormed at the first person she saw, blinded by her anger as she forgot all of Kakashi's wise teachings and warnings. All she could see was Naruto and Sasuke, lying dead somewhere in a field where they wouldn't be found until Konoha would send out back up.

In front of her, Kisame grinned, reaching for his sword but he stopped halfway as Itachi appeared behind Sakura. Within a second, Itachi's hand landed on her neck, effectively punching her lights out as she halted midway, staggered and fell to the ground.

The last thing she heard before everything went black was Itachi's soft voice speaking to Kisame.

"Drain her chakra."

--

Making his way through the forest as quickly as he could, Sasuke couldn't help but reflect on the past few days and how similar the situation was now compared to when they were still genin. Again, he was chasing Itachi and it was not for revenge, even if Naruto thought it to be just that.

Again, Itachi was near a person he had come to care about and Sasuke knew exactly what Itachi did to those people.

The visual of his mom lying underneath his father on a blood-red floor came to mind.

Enraged, Sasuke kept running, jumping from branch to branch as he continued to try and locate Sakura's chakra. It was far away from him, but he could still feel it, and for him, that was enough. As long as it was there, he had a chance of locating her and bringing her back to Konoha.

If Sakura was still alive, Sasuke wouldn't fail this time around. He'd protect those he loved; he made an oath to do so on his parent's grave.

Sun began to set as he reached the end of the forest and as the last rays of light slowly faded, Uchiha Sasuke halted on a branch.

Eyes wide, he crouched down, Sasuke watched the sunset, his heart wrenching, yearning as it called out for an explanation and for justice. His breathing was strained by the sudden pain in his chest as he started to cry almost helplessly when he realized that Haruno Sakura's chakra had suddenly disappeared completely.

--

Groaning, she opened her eyes again several hours later. Her vision was blurred and the sunlight that streamed into her room was causing her to squint in an attempt to block it out. Sakura entertained the thought of holding up her hand to stop the bright rays from reaching her, but her arm felt like it was a thousand pounds heavier and simply refused to budge.

Next to her, Sakura could hear someone chuckle, but as she strained to see who it was, the thought occurred that she was severely weakened. She breathed more strained than usual and her muscles felt like pudding. "What…" she struggled to say more but her lips refused to work with her.

"My sword, Samehada, is legendary," the man next to her explained in his raspy voice. A pungent odor reached her nostrils and she fought hard to stop herself from heaving as a wave of nausea passed by. "You see, in addition to it being able to rasp someone's skin off cleanly," the man chuckled again, viciously, "it also drains my opponent's chakra."

"Bas… tard," she fought to speak the syllables one by one.

A raspy laugh went through the room, followed by more of the horrifying stench. "Itachi-san is the one to blame for that particular order. He insisted that we should drain your chakra."

Sakura closed her eyes, attempting to drain the sound of the man's voice out.

Another chuckle. "Nice punch though, kunoichi."

--

Kisame exited the room quietly, closing the door behind his back. As he moved to turn to the right, he found Itachi standing next to him, apparently having approached him without making sound.

The Uchiha was without his Akatsuki cloak and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. He didn't even look up as Kisame stepped away from the door.

"She's completely drained," Kisame reported, baring his razor sharp teeth. "I believe she can't even see clearly."

Itachi nodded in approval, pushed himself off the wall and strode towards the room. Without even glancing at his partner, Uchiha Itachi opened the door and stepped inside.

--

A strong breeze carried several sandgrains with it, entering the Kazekage's office.

The Kazekage looked up from his paperwork, and turned to look out of the window, visibly disturbed by something as he searched the windows for any uproar in the city. Jade eyes scanned the vicinity and although he couldn't find anything that looked out of place, something definitely irked him.

Uncomfortable by the feeling, Gaara stood up from his chair, fetched his hat and put it on as he stepped onto the balcony of the Kazekage office.

Another gust passed by, stronger than the previous one.

Frowning, Gaara walked past the large statues of his predecessors, up the stairs to the highest point in Sunagakure. From there on, he waited quietly.

The wind was unsettling.

And the feeling that had started to grow inside of him became even worse when he noticed six figures near the gate that would lead to Sunagakure.

--

The first rays of sunlight woke her, forcing her to look at the brilliant hues of red and pink in the skies as it mingled with the blue of the night skies. The dark blue colors of the night were fading away until eventually the sky was a myriad of mauve, crimson, peach and even very light shades of green.

A pale orb hung in the sky and she smiled, comforted by the familiar sight. "Morning moon," she whispered, remembering one of the stories Ino was so fond of. If she closed her eyes, Sakura could easily see them sit next to each other, Ino telling stories and legends about Konoha and its inhabitants that she had learned about from her parents.

"You're awake," Itachi said plainly, softly. Sakura re-opened her eyes to look at the moon again.

She was too tired to turn to meet his cold gaze. There was nothing there that could be seen anyway, except for the eerie resemblance to Sasuke.

"Apparently, I am," Sakura answered calmly. She was still afraid of this man, knowing exactly what he was capable of, but acceptance was etched into her now. Sakura would die within the next couple of days, whenever Itachi didn't need her anymore, she'd be disposed of.

"I feel offended," Itachi's voice drifted softly through the room. "I cannot remember when the last time was that someone showed me bad manners."

Finally, she turned to him, not looking him in the eye. Her eyes drifted over his chest and finally settled on his chin. "My apologies. I've seemingly forgotten my manners after being kicked, my chakra being drained and finding myself kidnapped."

"Indeed you have." The tone was almost amused.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"To discuss," Itachi said coolly. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Itachi's eyes silenced her long before she could even say a word.

"Why I brought you here is Akatsuki business. It does not concern you and you will learn about it in due time."

"You've brought me here for Akatsuki business, but I can't even know what it is?" Sakura said, still not looking him in the eye.

"All in due time," he responded smoothly. "I imagine you think you will be killed. This is incorrect. Kisame is under my orders to keep you alive and I won't kill you."

Now she moved her eyes up to meet his emotionless gaze.

"Escape is futile and will be rewarded with Kisame draining your chakra. Going outside is not a possibility unless we're relocating."

"Relocating?"

"They will come," Itachi said simply. "Or is that no longer Konoha's way?"

"It has always been Konoha's way to come for team members," Sakura snapped, annoyed by the underlying tone of authority and arrogance that seemed to grace Itachi's voice.

Itachi seemed almost amused.

"What else am I supposed to do here?" Sakura asked, her emerald eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Wait until further instructions."

Sakura's blood was boiling. Not only was she trapped in Itachi's hide-out, which was located god knows where, Kisame could drain her chakra and apparently, she was part of some masterplan. Calmly, she started storing her last reserves of chakra in her right hand. Though it was little, she could still punch the living daylights out of Itachi would she hit him.

And perhaps then he'd kill her in a fit of rage, like he slaughtered the Uchiha clan.

She knew exactly why Itachi had kidnapped her. Sakura had read all about Akatsuki and heard enough to realize their objective and that everybody, not just Naruto, was in danger.

The only thing she could think of was that she needed to heal one of the members, or they'd torture her for information. The latter sounded more probable to her, considering the fact that there are a lot of medical ninja out there and they would not have to go out of their way to capture the one that was on Naruto's team.

But even as she started accumulating the chakra, she could see Itachi's piercing crimson eyes turn to her fist, apparently observing the flow of chakra with his eyes. "Stop."

His voice was quiet with no hint of malice or even amusement in it, but the order was loud and clear to her as she suddenly realized she had been fooling herself. Of course she was scared of him; this was Uchiha Itachi – a legendary killer.

The mere thought of being in his vicinity scared her to death, because she had read all the reports and knew how he slaughtered his clan, one by one, until only Sasuke was left.

She was a shinobi, trained to kill and show no emotion in any situation, but as she looked into the blood-red eyes that suddenly held pinnacles instead of commas, Sakura started trembling hard, knowing what was coming now.

Itachi never attacked.

He simply blinked and the Mangekyou Sharingan was gone, replaced by the usual commas. Sakura stared at him, not believing she got away with attempting to attack him.

"Why are you letting me get away with this?" she whispered then, afraid to even raise her voice.

Itachi leaned in closer from his chair, arms leaning on his legs now. He eyed her for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're implying. Get away with what, Sakura-san?"

"I tried to attack you, twice now," Sakura pointed out.

He said nothing, just observed her, his eyes looking back and forth at hers. Finally, he stood up and stepped closer to the bed until his knees hit the matras.

Scared, Sakura attempted to gain some distance from him as she slowly shuffled to the other side of the bed. But by placing his hands on either side of her body, Itachi effectively stopped her from running away as he hovered above her now, half leaning on the bed himself.

Perplexity filled her face as he leaned in closer and for a split second, Sakura thought Itachi might actually kiss her.

"W… What are you doing, Itachi-san?" Her throat felt parched as his warmth enveloped her.

"Reminding you of your position," Itachi said. His tone was smooth and quiet, but the words cut deep into her as he eyed her emotionlessly. "You're a tool. It would not benefit me if I will have to kill you before your part in all of this is over. You would do well to remember that."

"I'll remember that," she managed to get out.

The bed lurched as he removed himself.

She just watched him go.

--

_**A/N: **Well that took ages to finish._

_Hope you like this chapter and I'll see you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	5. Chapter 5

**Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story**

**By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **Ugh, dunno what it is with Memento. Some times I love writing it, sometimes I hate it. Three more chapters left after this to drag myself through. Go Mitsuki, go!_

_Dedicated to Abigel from DevArt, who inspired one of the last scenes of this chapter with one of her fanarts!_

**Chapter Five – Antinomie**

It was quiet.

Footsteps creaked on the wooden floor, coming closer. The darkness of the room scared him, and the silence was becoming unbearable. He was lying on top of something, something that felt both cool and wet, and as he attempted to move, he found his limbs frozen.

Sasuke's eyes focused slightly, until he finally saw the long strands of raven hair underneath him, and his mother's usually loving gaze fixed on the ceiling, unseeing. Dark blood was caked to her jaw, where it had streamed out of her mouth.

But as he gazed on in horror, the raven strands turned pink, and the midnight blue of his mother's eyes transformed into the hauntingly familiar emerald green, the same as Sakura's.

The next moment, he wasn't lying down anymore, but stood straight up. His katana was in his hand as Naruto came into view, shocked and enraged by sadness. Before he could stop himself, the hand that held his katana raised and then cut through Naruto's chest.

Inside he was howling, a myriad of emotions clawing at his heart. But he didn't move a muscle as Naruto fell lifelessly down on top of Sakura.

And all of the sudden, he was a little boy again, standing across from the dauntless figure who held the katana. He cried, struggling to get near his friends, until Itachi stepped over their dead bodies and crouched down.

His gloves were wet with blood as he pressed two of his fingers against Sasuke's forehead. "Forgive me Sasuke. This is the last time."

Before he could answer his brother, a katana sliced through his clothes, through his skin and punctured his heart.

--

Rain was pouring down incessantly for the last couple of days. Every now and then, thunder crashed and lightning would illuminate the sky for a brief moment, showing the raindrops as they fell from the clouds, before turning everything dark again.

Itachi stood outside, his Akatsuki cloak discarded as the rain pounded down on him. Itachi didn't feel the chill, or the incessant stream of water as he turned his scarlet eyes on the dark sky. They narrowed as he seemed to see something in the lightning-struck heavens. He inhaled deeply and stepped forward, a tiny smile finding its way to his thin lips.

"Itachi-san… What are you doing?" Kisame's voice rasped from behind him.

"A storm is coming."

"I think he's blinder than he wants to admit," Kisame whispered under his breath, loud enough for Itachi to overhear.

"Kisame," he called, voice leveled. "My hearing is just perfect."

He turned and walked towards the door again, having seen enough of the thunderstorm. As he passed Kisame, the shark-featured man eyed him strangely. He smirked that vicious grin of his half-heartedly and as Itachi walked the final steps towards the door, he spoke.

"If I didn't know any better… it would look as though you were crying, Itachi-san…" he drawled.

Itachi quietly stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

--

They marched into Sunagakure, Sai leading the way with five more Root members following him. The Chuunin of Suna had let them enter without much problems, Konoha and Suna were allies after all.

People outside stared at them as they moved through a market street. Children looked up at them in awe, men would nod at them while the women would smile.

As they turned around a corner, they stumbled upon the market square, one of Suna's busiest places. Sai halted, looking around with a half smile as he signaled for the rest of the Root members to halt as well. He turned to face them, eyeing them all for a moment. Then, with a flick of his finger, all members lowered the ANBU mask until it obscured their face.

With another flick, they drew their katana simultaneously.

Within a second, Sai had rushed towards a small girl who stood near the jewelry booth, trying on a small ring. He moved his hand over her eyes and stabbed her quickly and thoroughly.

She was dead before she reached the blood-spattered ground.

--

When Sakura woke, she was crying.

It had become normal for her to wake up to a wet pillow. Ever since Sasuke first left Konoha—no, even before that. Ever since she saw Orochimaru in the Forest of Death and the mark that marred Sasuke's perfect skin, she had nightmares. Orochimaru's golden eyes instead of Sasuke's blue ones, Orochimaru sending out his snakes to fight against Sasuke, the genjutsu he had cast on her, thinking that she was dead.

As a kunoichi, she had to be strong and emotionally resistant to everything her enemies could do to her. That day was the second day that showed that she had no right being there if all she could do was scream and hope for either Sasuke or Naruto to save her. One would think they had learned their lesson after the entire situation around Zabuza and Haku.

So she cried, until she realized that a familiar scent drifted through the air.

Forest and fire. Both the freshness of a rainstorm and the distinct smell of burning embers. There was no way she would ever mistake this scent.

"Sasuke…" she whispered, emerald eyes scanning the room as she pushed herself up. "Sasuke?"

The lights clicked on.

Itachi sat right next to the bed, observing her with obvious interest. His hair was wet and so were his clothes. Only his Akatsuki cloak, discarded over a chair, seemed to be dry. As she watched, the corners of his mouth formed a tiny smirk. "You were calling out for Sasuke," he said.

"I know."

"Why?"

As she observed him for a moment, she noticed that his Sharingan was off. All she could see now were those dark-blue eyes, twins to Sasuke's. "I thought I smelled him," she said quietly, unable to tear her eyes away him his. "Forest and fire."

He stared at her for a moment longer, before tossing his Akatsuki cloak towards her. She stared at it, not quite understanding, until she inhaled again and smelled Sasuke's scent again, just in a more concentrated form.

Eyes widening, she picked up the cloak and inhaled once more.

"Of course," she said then, pushing the cloak away.

"Of course?" Itachi asked.

She stared at him, eyebrows knitting together. "Uchiha. You use fire jutsu."

"Perceptive," he remarked. Sakura resisted the urge to attack him once more, especially now that some of her chakra had returned. He stretched on the chair, folding his hands together on his lap.

"Why are you here, Itachi?" she asked. He had ignored her throughout the past few days, sending Kisame to bring her food. The last time he had sat beside her bed like this, he had explained his rules to her and beat her up. There was no reason for her to think that this time would be different. Sakura was preparing herself for what would happen next.

"I wanted to apologize," Itachi said simply.

"… You want—what?" she asked, confused. He might as well have started dancing the conga on a table in front of her; it would have made more sense than those four words that he just uttered.

"My apologies, Sakura-san," he said. "For attacking you."

She brushed a bubblegum strand of hair away from her eyes and stared at him. "I attacked you first." Though it was no apology by any means, the fact that Itachi was apologizing for something that was natural to any shinobi was beyond her.

"It was understandable. We took you away from your team without any warning."

"Why the sudden good behavior then?" Sakura asked.

"I was raised well," Itachi replied smoothly.

She struggled to stop herself from laughing hysterically. If she would have a fit of laughter, there was no doubt in her mind that Itachi would get angry at her and that was the last thing she wanted right now. "Then let me go," she said.

"I will."

"... This doesn't make sense."

"I know."

Sakura regarded him quizically. "Then explain."

Itachi remained silent. "Explain what?" he said finally.

"Why did you take me away from my team mates?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Itachi said.

"No," she said resolutely, knowing where this would go. "If that's the case, you've picked the wrong person, Uchiha Itachi. I am not a traitor to Konoha, nor do I have any intentions of betraying Naruto. I know what Akatsuki is; I know what your objective is."

Itachi remained perfectly calm as she ranted, leaning forward when she was done. His exquisite eyes lingered on her face, as if he were memorizing every little detail of her. Surprised, she leaned back in return.

"I don't want to hear anything about Naruto-kun, or Konoha's plans," he said finally, leaning back again. "Tell me about my little brother."

"I doubt I could tell you more about him than you know," Sakura said sceptically, raising an eyebrow. He actually smiled at that as he straightened himself in his chair, and it did wonders for his looks. It was as though behind the face that belonged to a twenty-something year old, there was a face of a forlorn teenager.

"… Why?"

"You ask that question a lot."

Sakura shrugged. "You behave enigmatically. You were a monster just a couple of days ago. Right now, you're bordering on being _nice_."

The smile was back, for just an instant. "I'm just curious."

"If I answer your questions, will you answer mine?"

"Perhaps," Itachi said. It was vague, but good enough for her. He remained quiet for a split second. "No. I don't want to know about Sasuke."

"What then?"

"Tell me about you."

Silence reigned. Sakura blinked a couple of times, trying to assure herself that she had heard wrongly, but Itachi seemed to be waiting for a reply. She resisted the urge to ask him 'why' again. Instead, she moved over until she could swing her legs over the end of the bed, bringing her on equal height as Itachi as she sat down. "Haruno Sakura. Same age as Sasuke. Medic ninja trained by Tsunade. What else would you possible want to know about me?"

"Tell me what would interest most men," he said simply, his eyes still trimmed on her face without blinking.

"Because you are like most men," Sakura mentioned sarcastically. Immediately, she bit her tongue, almost forgetting who it was she was talking to, but Itachi didn't seem angered in the least. Rather, he was still waiting for her to continue. "I don't know what would interest most men…" she answered honestly.

Still no reply.

"… I like the cosmos flower," she said softly, not quite sure what to say. "I like to eat sweet things, like dango and fruit. Though I like pink, red is my favorite color. And even though I don't have any extraordinary jutsu except for my strength and medical jutsu, I was one of the smartest from our class."

Sakura remained quiet for a while as Itachi closed his eyes and reopened them. They were Sharingan.

Surprised, she recoiled, eyes widening at the sight of those crimson orbs. He stared at her for a moment, observing her shock, before quietly rising from his chair and making his way to the door. He opened it, just as Kisame was about to knock.

"Ready," Kisame said, grinning viciously as he stared at Sakura still poised on the bed like a wild animal.

"Sakura-san," Itachi said, turning to look over his shoulder. "Please make sure you're ready to go in fifteen minutes from now. Kisame will come for you."

With that, Kisame walked away from the room, Itachi following as soon as he closed the door quietly. Along with him left the barely noticeable scent of fire.

--

As soon as she finished up putting her second boot on, Kisame stormed into the room, not bothering to knock. Disturbed, Sakura glanced at the Akatsuki member in clear distaste, though he laughed it off easily.

She stood up, following him outside. "Where are we going to?"

"Away from this place," Kisame rasped. "We need to go back to Konoha."

Sakura stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"Itachi-san told you, didn't he, kunoichi?" Kisame said with a grin, turning around to meet her astonished expression. "He would let you go."

"I don't understand. Then why go through the trouble of taking me hostage in the first place?"

Kisame turned away again and continued marching through the hallway without replying. As they reached the door that would lead them outside, he halted, his gray-tinted hand on the doorknob. "He didn't want you to get hurt."

Sakura froze on the spot as Kisame left the house, his words spinning uncontrollably through her head, over and over again. Finally, Kisame called: "I'm going to leave you behind kunoichi."

Still shocked, Sakura rushed to get outside and follow Kisame towards Konoha.

--

"And those two conditions are…?" someone behind him asked.

The man who had been offering them all a position in his organization stepped forward from the shadows. He was young, perhaps just a few years older than Itachi and definitely younger than some standing around him. Short, auburn hair framed his face, his nose pierced, as well as his lips and ears. He seemed quite average, but there was still some kind of unsettling energy emanating from him.

An hitae-ate from Rain was strapped around his forehead, a giant slash through the middle of the metal. His eyes were flat, grey, and still piercing as well.

"I want you to prove to me how strong you are. Make your flee from your respective cities a memorable one, so that you'll be classed as a Missing-nin directly."

"Easy enough… yeah," the blond shinobi said. "And your second condition?"

"The tailed beasts are not easy to handle. The Jinchuuriki right now have had them inside of them since birth, they don't know better. But if we transfer them to our own bodies, their strength might prove too much and we might die."

"Which may be problematic," Itachi spoke.

The man turned his gaze towards him. "Yes. Fortunately, I have thought of something. We can divide the beasts' force into two, sealing both halves in different bodies until we're used to it's presence and we can handle the entire beast."

"So your second condition is for us to find someone who we can share the beast with…" the red-haired man drawled.

"Precisely."

The shark man stood up. "In case you haven't noticed, most of us are the lonely genius type, or just plain ugly. Like me. We can't draw people to ourselves."

Itachi inwardly nodded, though his thoughts immediately flew towards Sasuke.

"As some of you might realize, there's something that creates a bond more stronger than chakra or admiration out there. Love. Compassion."

Some of the men around him laughed.

"Laugh all you might, but I've found someone to share my beast with through this way."

"And she is… where?" the blond asked, still snickering.

"Right behind you," piped a woman's voice. Surprised, all eight men turned to face the girl that had joined them. She was short, perhaps Itachi's size with long blue hair. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and eyelids were painted black. Also, following the man's style no doubt, she had a single piercing through her lip.

"Konan," she said simply.

After a moment of silence, the red haired man spoke up again. "So what if we can't find a woman to share our powers with, or someone other than that?"

"If it doesn't happen by the time we're getting to your bijuu…"

The treat lingered in the air.

"I'm in," the blonde said. "What the hell, I need a challenge… yeah."

"Same," the red head said, followed by the shark man, the silver-haired men and some of the men he couldn't see through the shadows and thick foliage of the trees. Finally, all gazes turned towards him.

Itachi pondered it over for a second. "I'll join your organization," he said to the man. "But first, your name."

The man showed a shadow of a smirk. "Pein. Welcome to Akatsuki."

--

Kisame had taken her into the mountains. Somewhere in a cave, high up the slope of a particular mountain, she sat next to the campfire, mulling over the happenings of the day. Kisame had left to gather some food, much to her pleasure. She needed some time to be alone and to think about what her next move would be.

The fire cast shadows in the small cave, turning the otherwise blue tinted rock into shades of orange and red as the glow bathed throughout the entire space. The entrance of the cave was still looking bleak as rain continued to fall down.

As she stared outside, the colors seemed to form into a myriad of shades of blue, contrasting starkly against the inside of the cave. The opening itself was formed like a crescent, tall grass growing one one side.

She blinked once and Itachi was standing there. His black and red Akatsuki cape contrasted starkly against the dreary sky. He stood completely still for a moment, his face half obscured. Itachi's crimson eyes peered at her for a split second, before they turned back into the calming blue. He stepped forwards, out of the rain, and unzipped his cloak, discarding it on a nearly piece of rock.

"Kisame?" he asked as he sat down, leaning against the irregular rock wall.

Sakura shrugged. "Said he was going to get some food."

Itachi nodded, then grabbed something from the inside of his cloak. She watched him with interest as he grabbed the object and threw it towards her.

It was a peach.

Puzzled, she looked at him, before realizing why he had given her one. '_I like to eat sweet things, like dango and fruit._' She smiled as she put her teeth in the soft fruit, enjoying the sweetness of it. Itachi was looking at her intently, before turning his gaze away to the miserable weather outside.

"Thank you," she said. He didn't reply.

"I don't think the rain will cease soon," she mentioned, glancing outside as well. "It's the middle of the rain season."

Itachi cocked his head to the side. "I don't like rain."

"Is that so?" she asked, smiling as she realized how opposite Itachi and Sasuke were of each other. Sasuke would love the rain. Even while the rest of them went to hide from the rain, he would continue to walk in it, unbothered.

"Itachi-san?" she broke the silence. He turned his magnificent gaze towards her. "Kisame said a few hours ago that you're taking me back to Konoha… And that you took me away from battle because you didn't want me hurt…" She stopped there, not quite knowing how to continue, or how to stop the blush that was staining her pale cheeks.

Suddenly, she felt stupid.

Was she that lonely, or just going insane from being rejected by Sasuke numerous times? How could she even begin to think that she wanted to interpret that as casual concern for her well-being? How many times would someone waltz over her feelings because she would allow it to happen over and over again.

She finished her peach, feeling chagrined until she had noticed that Itachi had not answered her question. Instead, he was looking at her. "Yes?" he said finally.

It then occurred to her that he wanted her to continue.

"I was just wondering… why is that…?"

She stopped mid-sentence as Itachi stood up and joined her next to the fire. He sat down without saying a word, one of his legs propped up with the other one in an angle on the floor. Itachi leaned on one hand, the other one on his knee as he stared into the fire.

"I don't understand… Itachi-san," Sakura said, staring at him. "You nearly broke two of my ribs just yesterday, and now you're saying you don't want me hurt?"

He turned his face towards her and for the first time, she got to see him up close, while his face wasn't behind that mask. Itachi looked almost confused in the soft glow of the fire, his dark eyes smoldering, framed by long lashes. Even the lines on his face didn't bother her this time around, no matter how much they seemed to betray his age. His breathing was slow, his chest rising after twice of her inhales, the muscles clear through his mesh of his black shirt. Around his neck was a necklace with three silver flowers on it.

For the first time, she saw how immensely beautiful he really was. She gazed up to meet his intense gaze again. His midnight blue eyes had changed into Sharingan again, and now, for the first time, she could stare at them without feeling frightened. He looked almost puzzled as his perfect lips parted, allowing his sweet breath to wash over her face.

Itachi frowned as he moved one of his hands over to meet her face. As soon as his cool fingertips touched her cheek, a heat spread out from that point, filling her body with such an intense longing that it felt as though her heart would burst from the intensity of it.

His fingertips slid from her cheek to her jaw, following the line towards her chin and as they touched her lips, Sakura in turn touched him. First his chest, then up, touching his skin through the mesh, and his necklace, enjoying the feel of his cool skin under her overheating fingertips.

Normally her heart would be racing for a different reason, and her inner self would stop this entirely, knowing that it was wrong to touch the enemy in a way like this. But he was being so gentle and so filled with desire that it cancelled out all of her second thoughts. As her fingertips trailed up to his neck and finally touch that soft looking hair of his, she came undone.

His other arm wrapped around her waist, fingers pressing into her back as he leaned forward until he was an inch away from her face. Her green eyes widened, then closed as she closed the gap between the two of them, pressing her lips against his.

It was meant to be a soft, chaste kiss, nothing more. But her lips eagerly parted under the demanding nudge of his, allowing his tongue to slip into the wet cavern of her mouth, exploring it fully. She moaned under his touch, having never imagined that her first kiss would be this intense. She wrapped her other arm around him as she leaned into Itachi, pressing herself against him while he broke the kiss and moved his lips to her throat.

Suddenly, he stopped, pulling back until she could see his crimson eyes. "Kisame," he said quietly. Sakura understood and let go of him, falling back to her original position as Itachi stood up, grabbed his Akatsuki cloak and walked out of the cave.

As he vanished from her sight, she released the breath she was holding and touched her lips.

--

As soon as Sakura turned away from the cave's entrance, Itachi released the genjutsu he had cast on her. Blank, barely seeing eyes focused on the crescent shape of the cave's entry, waiting for Kisame to come.

He didn't even come inside during the entire time, but simple showed up in front of her, cast his genjutsu and let her hormones and emotions do the work. Kisame's acting was a big help to him as well as the genjutsu's modifications to make him smell and look more like Sasuke.

Kisame arrived behind him, holding some fish in his hands. "Did it work?"

Itachi cast a glance over his shoulder, and Kisame got his answer. Grinning all the while, he followed Itachi back into the cave.

It was a good thing Itachi had thought of this kunoichi. She loved Sasuke. Itachi and Sasuke, though miles apart, also looked like each other, so there wasn't much to do. Just convince the kunoichi that everything was okay and that Itachi was really a good guy. This genjutsu of Itachi would have done it's work too. She would be confused and her teenage hormones would definitely help fuel the childish crush that she had on Itachi.

There wasn't much more they could do right now.

Time was running out.

--

_**A/N: **Bet I threw you for a loop there, haha!_

_See you next time!_

_-- Mitsuki Shiroi_


	6. Chapter 6

**Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story  
By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **Two chapters left, woah._

**Chapter Six – Occultation**

After Itachi left, Sakura's emerald eyes focused on the crescent shaped entrance for a brief moment, trying to assess whether he had really left. Satisfied when she found no traces of his chakra anywhere near the cave, she glanced at the hand she had buried in Itachi's hair.

No hairs.

"Genjutsu," Sakura said, nodding to herself. She had expected as much the moment he appeared in the entry. His entire behaviour seemed off and Kisame's line wasn't exactly well acted. During their kiss, she had pulled out several of his hairs and had wound them around her finger. They were gone now.

Sakura resisted the urge to laugh as she stood up, stretching before trying to see what her next step would be. She started rummaging in her kunai pouch, checking her supplies.

Obviously, Itachi needed her for something. He was using the oldest trick in the book—seduction, to get what he wanted. Either she had to have a very strong connection to him for some obscure reason, or he was plainly luring her into his bed. The former seemed more likely than the latter to her.

She was still thinking over her next steps when the sound of Kisame's voice suddenly neared the cave. Falling back into her role, she sat down on the ground again, hugging her knees to her as she stared into the fire, trying her hardest to look lovestruck.

Kisame marched into the cave first, carrying several large fished. Behind him, Itachi followed quietly, his scarlet eyes focused on her. She ignored Kisame as he passed her and smiled sweetly at Itachi.

He passed her by as well, one of his cool fingers briefly touching her cheek as he walked past her. Sakura's smile widened until he passed her by. She returned to looking into the fire, touching the cheek he had touched. Though she tried to hide it, knowing that he was just using her, there was no doubt inside of her that she definitely had a small crush on him.

'_What was it with women and Uchiha men?_' She wondered, glancing to the place where Itachi sat, unbuttoning his drenched Akatsuki cloak. His sleek body could clearly be seen through his dark clothing and his long hair looked silky in the bright glow of the fire. He turned to her, obviously noting that she was watching him and flashed a tiny smile.

She feigned shyness and looked at Kisame as he sliced open the fished, licking his grey lips as blood started flowing out of the fish. He was humming an unfamiliar tune under his breath as he removed several parts of the fish and stuck them on a stick he had brought along. After cleaning the fish up, he stuck the sticks in the ground, allowing the fire to gently bake them as he went outside again, muttering something under his breath.

As Kisame walked out, Sakura turned to Itachi. "Why did you kiss me?"

He had been leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over each other as he stared into the fire as well. As she spoke, Itachi looked up to meet her confused gaze. She looked away from him again, hoping that her blush would be apparent.

"_Eyes, hands, it doesn't matter, he can release a genjutsu at me from any point of his body. He has to physically come closer first," _Inner Sakura warned.

He didn't answer, neither did he move. Itachi sat still, he was still watching her, she could almost feel his scorching gaze on her body. She didn't move an inch, just adjusted her gaze from some random point on the wall to the entrance of the cave, waiting as the silence between them stretched out.

Surreptitously, Sakura attempted to break any illusion that could have been cast on her, but there was none to break. She waited, until suddenly she felt his presence right behind her. Her breathing stopped, her heart beat erratically until he touched her neck with his cool, calloused fingers.

Sakura shivered under his touch as he sat down beside her again, his hand now moving towards her hair, softly stroking the pink thresses. His touch was definitely different from the illusion moments before, that was the one last thing Sakura could conclude before the situation directed her into looking at Itachi.

No Sharingan.

Her eyes widened as she stared into those familiar blue eyes, trying to find out why he hadn't cast a genjutsu on her this time. Itachi hadn't hesitated in the least to do it the previous time. She had looked him right in the eye and he didn't take his chance.

But perhaps…

Again she tried to break any genjutsu that might have been used on her, but as she opened her eyes, Itachi was still sitting there, no emotion displayed on his face as he pushed some pink strands of hair behind her ear. He was gentle and very calm.

"Itachi-san…" she said, leaning in closer. His hand never left her hair as she kissed him lightly on the lips, hoping he would take adventage of it. As she brought her hand to his face, he caught her wrist, effectively stopping her directly.

Shocked, she leaned back and dropped the syringe she had been holding in her hand. It fell to the ground with an earthshattering sound to her ears, though it probably barely made a sound at all.

Itachi glanced down and picked the syringe up.

She was terrified, watching on as he checked the fluid inside, apparently quickly recognizing it for what it was. He emptied it before throwing it over his shoulder, dimissing her last hope with ease.

Knowing that he was about to kill her, Sakura quickly molded chakra to her left hand, preparing for the first attack. Itachi's eyes reverted back to Sharingan, his blood-red orbs watching her as the chakra streamed towards her fingers. Then, he looked at her, no fear or annoyance showing in his eyes as he avoided her first attack.

They jumped apart from each other. Sakura crouched down, preparing for the next attack as more of her chakra pulsed through her, mixing with both adrenaline and instinct. During her next attack, he avoided her as well, re-appearing behind her while restricting one of her arms. As she move to free herself, he dropped her to the cold ground and sat down on her, grabbed her other arm and forced it to the ground as well.

Sakura didn't relent, moving underneath his iron grasp, trying to wiggle herself away from him so that she could land at least one punch on him.

With one lightning quick movement, Itachi had turned her around. She gasped as her back landed on a particular sharp piece of rock, before continuing the struggle, knowing that this was the end, but not willing to give up. But as Itachi's eyes transformed again into Mangekyou Sharingan, she halted, preparing for the worst.

"Is this it?" she asked weakly.

"Yes," he said.

"Kill me quickly then," Sakura said, forcing a smile. "Or is it not your style to quickly kill people? Do you seduce them first before slicing them open? Was it as easy to kill your family?"

Itachi's eyes reverted back to the normal Sharingan. "You know nothing."

"You're the one that doesn't know anything," Sakura spat, unleashing all of her anger and frustration as she pushed away her fears. "You don't understand human emotions or what it means to feel sympathy and love at all."

Itachi remained quiet.

"Killing your own family for your own pleasure, to see how strong you were! Do you have any idea of what you have done?!" she screamed at him now, tears streaming over her cheeks. "And now you have your eyes set on Naruto and me for some goddamn sadistic game of yours! I won't be a part of this, Uchiha Itachi."

It was deathly quiet for a brief moment as Sakura ended her rant, flushed as tears continued to spill from her eyes while Itachi regarded her with a strange expression. It was the kind of exasperated look you would give someone if you were talking and that other person wasn't listening to any of your words.

"Sakura-san," Itachi started finally and for the first time did she ever hear him hesitate. "What if I told you…" She couldn't hear the rest of his sentence. Itachi stopped after he was done speaking, regarded her for a moment longer and promply got off of her.

She stayed on the floor, watching him as he retreated back to the corner. He sat down there, Sharingan focused on her as she scrambled to get up. "What if you told me what?" she asked as she pushed herself off the ground.

Itachi wasn't watching her anymore, instead, his eyes were trimmed on his Akatsuki ring. In the silence that stretched out between the two of them, Sakura suddenly felt a heavy weight pressing onto her heart, as if she was starting to understand the subliminal messages of the massacre and all the things that happened afterwards.

As her intelligent mind started to piece the little things together, Itachi looked up and Sakura saw what she had been searching for.

Sadness.

"You…" she started, gasping for breath. "You didn't kill the clan… did you, Itachi?"

"I did," he said. Simply, coolly, yet with ancient grief lacing his words.

She stumbled forward, towards him. "Why… It wasn't your choice, I can see that. This is not about sadistic games or toying with people… You're using Sasuke because you want to die."

Itachi said nothing, nor did he look away. He just sat there, a man who was barely five years older than her, but laden with so much more grief than she could possibly phantom. Even more so than Sasuke, Itachi was also broken and lost, trying to find redemption in the form of his little brother.

"You can't do this," she said then, quietly as she stepped closer, brushing away the tears that had started again. "You can't use him. You're the last Uchiha beside him. He deserves to know the truth."

"He knows the truth," Itachi said, voice devoid of any emotion. "I killed the clan. That's all he needs to know."

Sakura shook her head. "No. He needs to know everything. Unlike myself, I'm not just a bystander in all of this. I know Sasuke well, I barely know you and the two of you are the only Uchiha I know. But Sasuke… Sasuke grew up together with you. This is about his family as well. He deserves the truth."

Itachi kept his eyes on her the entire time and when she finished talking, he blinked once. "I was going to kill Naruto-kun," he said coolly. "I was going to extract the kyuubi."

"Like you did to Gaara…" she whispered.

Itachi said nothing.

"Tell me Itachi," Sakura said, taking another step into his direction, all of her anger and hatred for him suddenly gone. "Tell me what happened that night."

"You've read it in reports," Itachi said simply. "I went in and murdered the Uchiha clan."

Outside, the incessant pounding of the rain continued. If she really strained to listen to it, Sakura could probably discover a melody in it. It was soothing to hear the sounds as she turned to the entrance way, closing her eyes as she let everything come together. Every thread in this closely woven tapestry suddenly made sense.

… But not completely.

--

Uchiha Sasuke awoke with a start. His back was aching after sleeping against the harsh bark of the tree, but he wasn't paying any attention to his petty aches. Midnight blue eyes turned alert as he scanned the horizon, trying to locate exactly what it was he was trying to find.

His eyes rested on a small stretch of mountains, perhaps just a day away from him.

As he concentrated on the two chakra levels he found there, it became increasingly harder for him to breathe. Every inhale of air was hot, scorching through his lungs, setting his entire body on fire. Sasuke stood up, his eyes wide as they transformed into Sharingan.

As though he suddenly could see farther than ever, he saw the stretch of mountains and on one of them was Itachi, watching the sunset while wearing that infuriating blank look of his. As he watched, Itachi looked up from his musings into his direction and smiled that fake smile, the one that had tricked him so many times.

Hatred raging through him, Sasuke sprinted off towards the mountains, knowing that that was where his destiny was hiding. He could no longer even see straight, tears blurring his vision beyond recognition.

He had been wrong, there were two chakra levels with him, one of his partner and another one that he couldn't distinguish. It didn't matter anyway. If there was just Itachi, he would have killed him. More Akatsuki members didn't deter him.

Sakura's face flashed before him, followed by the vision of his mother and father in the living room… streets filled with blood and bodies…

"_Foolish little brother…_" Itachi said, the full moon illuminating him. "_If you want to kill me, despise me, hate me_."

Naruto's face flashed before him now, smiling as he pronounced him his friend, his brother. Naruto as he held his limp body after Haku's attack, Naruto during the Chuunin exams, Naruto saving Sakura… Naruto eveloped in the sinister crimson chakra that belonged to the kyuubi…

"_Run… run…_"

Sakura crying over him. Sakura peeling an apple for him, Sakura being there after he woke up from his coma. The empty road that would lead outside of Konoha and her standing on it, professing her love to him. Telling him that she would come along with him if he wanted to. That together, they would be able to do something.

And for a moment, he wished he could take her along.

"_Cling to life in an unsighty way_."

The both of them in his dream, dead, stacked up on one another. Blood everywhere.

No.

It would never come to that. He was too late for Sakura, and he would include her in his revenge too. But Naruto was still alive and Naruto would be the only team seven member that would live after this night.

Once did he look around, as though Naruto would be following him. "It wasn't all meaningless…" Sasuke whispered softly, apologizing to the friend he was losing. "But my future is not where my dream is."

With that, he relocated Itachi's chakra and moved towards the mountains with the speed of light, running faster than he could have ever imagined. His chakra would be drained by the time he would arrive there, but his rage and hatred would suffice.

And if it didn't…

Sasuke smiled bitterly.

--

While Sai returned around to start the next attack, the girl transformed back into the piece of rock she had originally been and landed on the ground with a solid thud.

Shocked, Sai turned around, his emotionless façade falling down as everywhere around him, citizens turned into heaps of sand and rocks. He cursed under his breath, grabbing a role of his paper and his pencil, intent on distracting as much of the ninja that were coming for them.

Before he could finish his first lion however, three sand shinobi came up out of nowhere, kunai flying around him as he avoided them, finishing his lion and summoned him to life.

"They should not have known about this attack," one of the Root members yelled. "It was supposed to be a secret maneuvre."

"Secret my ass," another Root member said, to his left. "They probably set us up for this. Even the Kazekage is here!"

Sure enough, the daunting figure of the Sixth Kazekage hovered above them on a cloud of sand. Though his eyes were obscured by shadows, Sai could feel his piercing glance, sending shivers over his spine. Defiantly, he looked back, showing absolutely no emotion as he dodged a fourth shinobi and stuck a kunai between his ribs.

"He's mine," Sai said simply.

"No, you're _mine_," a rough voice called out. Shocked, Sai whirled around to see Uzumaki Naruto standing there, no longer the normal boy, but eveloped in a sinister crimson chakra, he seemed to be a demon. Two tails formed by chakra moved back and forth behind Naruto, spelling imminent doom as another one sprouted and Naruto's features turned even more fox like.

Naruto growled and leapt…

--

"_Think, Sakura, use that brain of yours!_" Inner Sakura yelled at her.

There was something huge that she was overlooking and she wasn't sure what it was, but something definitely didn't add up in the story she had spanned together after hearing Itachi's short replies.

He was still completely quiet, eyes not on her as she wrecked her brain, thinking of every possibility there was. Crimson eyes focused on the entrance for a brief moment, before flashing back to her.

She stared back. "I'm free to go, right? You're just escorting me to Konoha?"

Itachi nodded.

Sakura turned fully towards him. "I'll be fine from here. I'll go to Konoha myself."

Itachi showed a small smile. "And then what, Sakura?"

Her name, uttered in that dark, deep voice of his sent chills down her spine as she remember that intense kiss they shared. It was just an illusion, just a figment of his power and her imagination, but Sakura had wished that it was real. Teenage hormones perhaps, or the fact that nobody except Lee and Naruto ever showed any interest in her.

Sakura closed her eyes, inhaling to calm her nerves and re-opened them. "I will tell him."

"He won't believe you," Itachi said simply, walking towards her. "Sasuke's reason to live right now is revenge. That is all that matters to him. Take away his goal and you might as well take away his life."

Itachi cupped her chin between two fingers, forcing her to look up into his eyes. The way he seemed to look right into her mind still scared her, but she was less frightened now that she had been before. This was a man that had killed a clan and taken the complete blame on him, only to hope that his brother would one day be strong enough for revenge.

"I'll help you," she whispered to him. Sasuke was her interest and the person she wanted to protect above all. But more than that, Sakura wanted him to be happy. If Sasuke would only know about Itachi, things could be resolved. Yes, he had killed the clan, if that was even the truth, but it wasn't out of his own volition. "I'll help you, Itachi."

He showed that tiny smile again as he pressed her face into his chest, wrapping one arm around her. "Go, if you must," Itachi whispered in her ear.

"One last thing," she said after he released his hold on her. Sakura looked him straight in the eye as she prepared her question. Itachi seemed to know what was coming, but remained silent. "Who ordered you to kill the clan?"

There was a moment of silence. "… Uchiha Madara," Itachi said.

Apparently he could see that the name meant nothing to her, but 'Uchiha' had sparked her interest. Itachi said nothing, his mind flying back to the newest Akatsuki member with the orange mask. He closed his eyes briefly, remembering that chakra signature. Though he acted like a complete fool, he was quite certain of his reasoning. "Right now he's in Akatsuki as well. Their leader."

"Pein…" she started, but Itachi shook his head once.

"Pein works under Madara," Itachi said, mind flying over possibilities. "Madara uses the name Tobi. He wears an orange mask."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Sakura asked softly. "Why didn't you tell this to Sasuke immediately after the massacre?"

Itachi just looked at her with his enigmatic blank look.

She shook her head. "I'll go, Itachi. I'll tell Konoha who really planned everything."

Sakura cast one long, last glance into his direction and started running, into the rain, over the rocky territories, always hiding her chakra from possible attackers as she got into a nearby forest and moved as quick as she could towards Konoha.

Itachi stepped out of the cave as she dashed out, standing in the rain as he touched his hitaeate. First he traced the Konoha symbol and then the great slash through it. "Foolish little girl," he whispered to the rain.

Itachi's plan had worked out perfectly. Sakura would go back to Konoha, but would surely feel the oncoming battle. By the time she would return to the battlefield, he would be dead and Sasuke would be left as the winner of years of rage and hatred, all in the name of revenge.

She wouldn't dare tell him afterwards.

Moreover, Konoha would be warned against Madara. That was the most pivotal point. They were focussing all of their energy on Pein right now, while Madara would plan to attack Konoha from the back. It was a well thought out plan, but Itachi had once given his innocence to save Konoha from a full-out war.

There was little that he wouldn't do to protect that village.

Itachi stood there for at least an hour, maybe even two, waiting. When Kisame showed up again, he dismissed the shark-man, telling him to go to the nearby village and wait there for him. Kisame apparently sensed the storm coming as well as he grinned and left once again.

He entered the cave again, putting his Akatsuki cloak back on and stepped outside.

For a moment, it was completely silent, as if the world had stopped.

He smiled and then dodged as the first katon was fired his way. In spite of the rain, it set several trees on fire, as well as the long grass that grew around these parts. Uchiha Itachi turned to see Uchiha Sasuke standing across from him, in the midst of a sea of fire and rain.

For a short second, Itachi saw the face of a six year old Sasuke, running towards him as he came home from a gruelling mission, clinging onto his outfit, though it was drenched. He saw the face of the seven year old boy in front of him, practicing his fire jutsu on the dock of the nearby pond, until his face as mouth was rain and blisters had formed on his hands. And finally, the face of an eight year old Sasuke, tears streaming over his face as he begged for his life.

"_I'm giving it to you, Sasuke_," he thought as he turned fully towards the fully grown Sasuke. "_Here is your life. Spend it wisely._"

--

Itachi was standing there, calm and composed as always, his dark clothing stark against the crimson fires of his jutsu. An infuriating smile played around his lips, reminiscent of the days they spent together on the porch of their house, talking about grades and school and other trite things.

Sasuke grimaced, tears mingling with rain as he took stance and activated the chidori. From a distance, Sasuke could easily see that Itachi had opted to grab a kunai, the tip of it barely stuck out of his Akatsuki cloak.

The blue lightning lit up his face, revealing the tell-tale crimson eyes, so similar to Itachi's that he sometimes wanted to claw them out, until he remember his stern father, who had the same eyes. Perhaps stern, but there was also some kindness in them, though hidden far, far away.

Sasuke exhaled calmly, remembering all the faces of everybody who was slaughtered senselessly that day, remembering the way every corpse looked in the Uchiha district, his parents, on top of each other, eyes open, unseeing. And finally, Sakura and the way she used to smile.

"_There's nothing I wouldn't do for you._"

He screamed, agony and hate in his voice as he sprinted towards his brother, the sound of a thousand birds chirping was left in his wake as he trust his hand forwards, towards the face of Uchiha Itachi.

--

_**A/N: **I know you love me, haha._

_See you next time!_

_-- MitsukiShiroi_


	7. Chapter 7

**Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story  
By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **__Not much to say, lol._

**Chapter Seven – Caliginous**

"Big brother!"

Itachi looked up, smiling gently as Sasuke rushed towards him, as fast as his little legs could take him. He finished removing his boots and stripped off his gloves before patting his little brother on his head. Sasuke smiled under his touch, gruffly, and stuck out both hands to grasp Itachi's arm.

"Come on, I need to show you something," he said, smiling brightly.

"What is it?" Itachi asked softly as Sasuke started to put his sandals on. While he watched his little brother zip up the sandals, Sasuke looked at him, cocking his head ever so slightly while his bottom lip stuck out. Of course. Sasuke was disappointed.

Itachi sighed as he shook his head, laughing quietly at Sasuke's antics while putting his sandals back on. It was a ritual shared between the two of them; whenever Sasuke had mastered some kind of trivial trick, he would first go to Itachi. When he got his brother's approval, Sasuke would rush off to their father.

Outside, it was still raining, but Sasuke stepped into it without giving it much thought, beckoning for Itachi to follow as he ran down the streets of the Uchiha district. He moved quickly to the lake behind their house, onto one of the docks and turned around to see if Itachi was following.

Satisfied that Itachi was standing behind him, Sasuke faced the lake, inhaled deeply and then made the handseals. After Sasuke made the second one, Itachi easily identified it as the Goukakyuu no Jutsu and awaited in anticipation as Sasuke finished the final seal.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_," Sasuke breathed, a large ball of fire forming on the lake.

Itachi watched on, a tiny smile playing around his lips as Sasuke finished the jutsu and looked around, his dark-blue eyes bright with pride and enthusiasm. Itachi's smile brightened as he reached out and ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Well done, Sasuke," Itachi said, knowing that that's all Sasuke needed to hear.

Sasuke grinned under his touch and looked up as a bright flash of light lit up the sky, followed by a loud crack.

"Let's go home," Itachi said and allowed Sasuke to lead the way as they walked – Sasuke nearly started skipping, towards their house.

--

Sasuke's Chidori missed as Itachi easily dodged. He grabbed Sasuke by his collar, throwing him against the rock wall while Sasuke still recovered from the loss of chakra.

Sasuke jumped away from the wall, reaching for his katana. Itachi readied the kunai in his hand as Sasuke came a second time, blades clashing. Though Itachi was still calm about it all, Sasuke's eyes were filled with hatred and the instinct to murder him on the spot. Then, all of the tension disappeared as Sasuke formed some handseals with his free hand, starting Chidori on the hand holding the blade.

It moved through the blade like an electric current, but Itachi merely smirked as his body turned into several crows, flying around the area for a split second before they all rejoined and recreated his body.

As he landed on the rocky ground, Itachi eyed his brother with disdain. "I can't help but notice… you still don't have the same eyes."

Sasuke didn't bother to answer as he let the curse seal take over. Itachi watched in cold amusement as it spread over his younger brother's face, eventually changing the color of his skin, eyes and hair as a massive hand grew out of Sasuke's back from one side.

He made handseals quickly, taking stance as he activated a new fire jutsu.

"_Gouryuuka no Jutsu huh?_" Itachi thought. His Sharingan changed to Mangekyou and with the speed of light did he make another jutsu.

Sasuke didn't expect a Kage Bunshin, caught in surprise just after launching his devastating effect, fuelling the fires around the battle ground even more.

Itachi closed his left eye and focussed all his energy in his right. It began to bleed, hot blood streaming down his cheeks as he activated Amaterasu…

--

He wasn't exactly sure what had happened, but the moment he reopened his eyes, Naruto found himself on the dusty ground of Sand. A medic was hovering over him, cool blue chakra spilling over him, soothing the dull sensation of pain that had grown in his chest.

Gaara was crouched barely a foot away from him, his hairless eyebrows pulled together in a frown as he looked on. "You transformed," Gaara said simply as Naruto threw him a questioning look.

Naruto grimaced. "Figured."

Gaara hesitated for a moment, jade eyes observing Naruto and the hands of the medic. Finally, he stretched one hand out and touched Naruto's shoulder calmly. Naruto resisted the urge to flinch under Gaara's strong grasp and smiled towards the Kazekage.

"Thank you," Gaara said.

Behind Gaara and beyond the circle of Sand Chuunin that had formed were the completely incinerated bodies of Sai and his men.

Sand mingled with blood was all around him, as well as some large chunks of dark hair. His throat was parched and so painful it felt as though flames surged through him with every breath. Deep inside his mind, the Kyuubi roared with pleasure and amusement, still recalling the sight of blood and death.

--

She was halfway to the Fire Country when everything suddenly clicked.

Sakura stopped mid-stride, eyes wide as she turned around, her emerald eyes scanning the mountain range she had just sprinted away from. She found what she was searching for soon enough: a circle of brightly burning flames, surrounded by another circle of black flames.

Though Sasuke himself was unnoticeable through the rain and flames, Sakura could easily see the chidori as it started up again. The blue rays of lightning were immense, contrasting against the flames as Sasuke moved forwards towards the point where Itachi would be standing. The Chidori flickered and died then, leaving her to see two black dots in the middle of the sea of fire. One of them representing Itachi, the other Sasuke.

Before she had even noticed what she was doing, Sakura started running, stumbling over her feet. Her eyes never left the battle scene, not even to see where she was landing every time she made a jump.

Anxiety had gripped her throat, not allowing her to breathe as she moved as fast as she could. Her chakra was draining quickly, but she stowed away a reserve that she knew she needed, for at least one Uchiha fighting there. Tears streamed over her cheeks as she realized that Itachi would be the one in need of medical attention; if she could even get there fast enough.

"_You're such an idiot, Sakura!_" she reprimanded herself as she reached the end of the forest. "_Of course Sasuke was coming. You told Itachi. Konoha never abandons team mates!_"

Just as she was about to cross the river, she noticed Kisame standing not far away from her, leaning against a rock as he watched the fires on the mountain raging on and the two dots called Itachi and Sasuke moving quickly in the ring of flames.

Sakura was about to ask him why he wasn't helping Itachi out when suddenly one of the two Uchiha stopped moving. Shocked, she watched on as the person staggered. Kisame's grin had faded as he joined her, peering towards the battle scene. It lasted one second, barely a second, and then multiple snakes sprouted out of the stumbling Uchiha.

"Sasuke!" she screamed, frozen to the spot. Next to her, Kisame chuckled and shrugged.

"It was to be expected," Kisame said simply.

"Itachi said he wouldn't-" Sakura muttered.

"He's not dead, kunoichi," Kisame pointed out. "He summoned a few snakes, that's all."

Sakura exhaled shakily and started to move again when the other figure, presumably Itachi, also summoned something. But this was unlike anything she had ever seen.

A huge skeleton rose from the ground, flames coating its bones. The fire started to envelop it it what seemed to be a makeshift kind of body, forming a large nose first, then it moved towards its skull. His eyes remained empty, a large jewel shaped figure formed on it's forehead and the flames moved on to the top of the skull where it abruptely stopped, immitating hair.

It rose until it stood upright, matching the mountains around it in height, it seemed far more impressing than Sasuke's snakes until the hydra started to move, matching the daunting figure with ease and overwhelming it with its numbers.

They struck viciously, moving forward with the speed of light, but Itachi's figure, though large, was by no means slow. It struck up with a sword of flames, severing one of the heads of the snakes. As the hydra moved to strike again, the figure hit a second and a third head. He continued doing that until there was one head left.

It stood upright, rigid in the cool morning air. Lightning struck not far away from it, but it never flinched until just a moment later. It opened it's huge mouth and something other that it's tongue stuck out.

Sakura peered, not being able to see anything. She turned to Kisame to see if he understood what it was from his point of view. But he had stood up and was staring at the figure as well, both disgust and amusement written on his face. He turned towards Sakura, grinning widely as though he just heard the best joke of the century. "It's Orochimaru."

By the time he had finished saying Orochimaru's name, Sakura had started to cross the river, intent on going to Sasuke. Fighting Itachi was bad enough, but Orochimaru intervening was something that should not happen. She would risk her life to save both of the men from Orochimaru.

Golden eyes flashed before her, as well as that insidious laughter and that dangerous, sinister chakra of his. More than Akatsuki, more than Naruto's Kyuubi, more than anything on the world did she fear Orochimaru.

But she steeled her will as she reached the slope that would lead up to the mountain range and hurried as fast as she could towards the battle, always keeping her eyes on the snake and the figure.

--

"He doesn't look at me," Sasuke said, pouting as he sipped his tea. He glanced at Itachi as his older brother leaned back, similarly sipping his tea as he read Sasuke's gradecard. "All he said was "get as good as your older brother"."

Itachi smiled as he put away the cup, reading the final grades before folding the card away and putting it inside. He ruffled Sasuke's hair, showing that familiar smirk of his. "Well done Sasuke. I'm proud of you."

Sasuke smiled ruefully, gently pushing his brother's hand away. He crossed his legs as he grabbed one of the tomatoes that he had gotten from his mother, taking a small bite. Sasuke wiped up the juice from the corners of his mouth and turned to Itachi. "Hey…"

"Hm?" Itachi replied, taking a bite of his dango.

"The other day, you told me we'd always be together," Sasuke said, taking another bite. "You mean it?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Lately, it seems as if you're saying goodbye to me whenever you leave the house, rather than 'see you later'."

Itachi remained silent after that, watching as Sasuke took another bite of his tomato. His blue eyes inspected Sasuke's facial expression, not quite recognizing what Sasuke was trying to hide from him; fear was definitely there, but also sadness and something else…

"I won't leave," Itachi said, smiling gently. "I'm always in your thoughts, aren't I?"

"It's not the same," Sasuke said, pouting.

"It is," Itachi said, taking another sip from his tea to wash away the sticky dango. "If you think about someone often, they never leave. You'll always have them right beside you."

"Even when you can't talk to them anymore?"

"Even then."

"What if someday, we can't talk to each other anymore?" Sasuke questioned. "If you go away and never come back?"

Itachi smiled, chuckled softly as he patted Sasuke's head. "Don't talk like that, Sasuke. But even if that were to happen," Itachi pointed at Sasuke's heart. "I'm there."

--

Breathing harshly, Sasuke kept his eyes on Itachi as his brother took one step closer to him. Behind him, Susano'o stood strong, his blade readied for a strike. Itachi had blood caked to his cheek from where it had streamed down from his eye. His mouth was stained with it and numerous cuts were visible across his brother's face.

Over the years, he had never seen Itachi like this. And for the first time, it kindled a fire inside of him. There was still hope; he might make it and kill Itachi. Right now, both of them were running low on chakra. Sasuke could do one final attack and he was guessing that Susano'o drained a lot of Itachi's chakra as well, as Itachi was moving with increased difficulty as seconds trickled by.

As he glanced up briefly, Sasuke noticed that the dark clouds surrounding them hadn't disappeared yet, and neither had Amaterasu. This had to end quickly; Itachi was pushing him farther and farther into one corner. If he took a few more steps backwards, he would be in direct contact with Amaterasu.

Rapidly, Sasuke formed the seals for one of the strongest fire jutsu. Itachi halted in his tracks, obviously understanding what Sasuke was about to use as he readied himself, watching his little brother without blinking.

Sasuke smirked as he fired off the attack. It launched towards Itachi in an inhuman pace, then past him, up towards the sky. As it reached the clouds, they turned crimson for a split second, before thunder crashed and lightning increased.

Itachi was watching the clouds, obviously not expecting that. Sasuke took advantage of the moment as he quickly summoned the lightning to do his bidding, making the seals for Chidori while crouching down.

The Chidori he held in his hands was larger than any one he could create with his own chakra, and it took all of his strength to contain it into one hand. It scalded the inside of his hand and his fingers felt like they were on fire but Sasuke could care less. Even as his heart sped up to the point where it was simply dangerous to use that much chakra, he continued to store more and more into his hand until he knew that this one would definitely kill Itachi.

When he rushed forwards, Susano'o faded from behind Itachi. Sasuke was convinced that Itachi had sent Susano'o for him, but knew that there was no stopping. He reached Itachi and struck, convinced that Itachi would move…

But he didn't.

It was as if time itself had stopped. All that remained was the incessant pounding of the rain and the last, dying sounds of the chirping birds as Sasuke de-activated the Chidori. All he could see was Itachi, coughing up blood. It streamed down his chin and dripped onto Sasuke's white kimono, staining it.

He retracted his hand, eyes wide as he realized that Itachi had dismissed Susano'o. It came out of Itachi's stomach with a revulsive sound, blood coating his entire arm.

Itachi was standing still, as though the hole in his abdomen didn't bother him at all. He mumbled something under his breath, something that Sasuke didn't want to hear as his eyed widened.

Itachi was smiling. Not the smirk he had seen occasionally during the brief moments they had met over the past couple of years, but the smile he had seen while they had lived together. When everything was right, when they would sit on their porch together, simply talking about the birds and the bees.

Itachi raised two blood-coated fingers and gently tapped them against Sasuke's forehead, the blood now cool.

The world spun in front of him then. It was starting to get darker and darker and Sasuke realized that he had pushed himself beyond his limits. And he smiled towards his older brother as his knees buckled under him. When he reached the floor, he heard Itachi similarly hitting the floor.

And then it was silent.

--

The battle had ended.

Sakura was trying her hardest not to think about the implications of the sudden silence. She moved closer and closer towards the battle ground in high speed. Most of her chakra had been drained away, but she still had enough left to probably heal the biggest wounds that had been inflicted. The rest would have to be done in the traditional way.

She touched her pouch. Before she had rushed off to go back to the battle, Sakura hadn't checked her supplies, but she was fairly certain that the necessary things such as bandages, gauze, needle and thread should still be in there. She was out of anesthetics though; Sakura had used all of it while she tried to sedate Itachi.

The harsh rain had been reduced to a small drizzle by the time she got close enough to smell the fires that were several yards ahead of her. Smoke was rising towards the sky, a thick trail of grey, working as an exact beacon for her now that Itachi's figure had disappeared.

Deep inside of her, her stomach was churning. It was unsettling to merely walk there, but even more so in the wake of the battle. One of the Uchiha would be mortally injured and the mere thought of it being Itachi was harder on her than she had originally anticipated.

Sakura slowed down, scared to the point of shaking as she ran the last couple of yards up the mountain towards both Sasuke and Itachi; unsure of what she might find there.

--

"_You know, you and I are unique siblings. In order to overcome your barriers, you and I will have to continue living together. Even if it means that we'll hate each other. That's what being an older brother means_."

"What about it?" Itachi asked, not smiling.

"I wondered… why you said that," Sasuke said, sitting down next to Itachi. "Like you said, a couple of weeks ago, the two of us will always be together…"

The mental image of his three other clan members on the ground in front of their house and Itachi standing in front of them popped up in his mind. Though he hadn't mentioned anything to his brother about it, Itachi had grown more distant ever since. Whereas they used to play outside from time to time, or where Itachi would sometimes show him a neat trick, he was ignored by Itachi over and over against over the past couple of days.

"I don't hate you, big brother," Sasuke said earnestly, eyebrows pulling together.

"Isn't it unpleasant to be together with me?" Itachi said, a faint smile playing on his lips as he looked up towards the sky.

"No," Sasuke said, too quickly perhaps.

Itachi saw through his lie, but didn't comment on it. "I should get going," he simply said, pushing himself off the porch. He passed Sasuke without ruffling his hair for once and made his way towards his room.

Sasuke waited for him at the door, leaning against the wall and watched Itachi with envy as he re-emerged, wearing the ANBU uniform. He was wearing a white vest and long, dark-blue gloves. A katana was strapped to his side and he was wearing a half-tattered cape, obviously preferring that one to the brand-new one he had received just during that morning to replace the older one.

The porcelain mask of a fox obscured half of his face as he stepped past Sasuke, put his boots on and slid open the door.

Sasuke stepped toward and stretched out his hands, grabbing Itachi's cape. Itachi turned around and Sasuke buried himself in Itachi's clothing, hugging his big brother one last time before he departed.

Itachi stood completely still, then brought his hands to Sasuke's head, wanting to reciprocate the hug. But his hands froze just a few centimeters from Sasuke's head and Itachi stopped to look at them. Finally, he dropped them back to his sides and waited until Sasuke let go of him.

Without seeing Sasuke's face, Itachi poked him gently against the forehead and swept out of the Uchiha manor.

"_I don't hate you, big brother_."

As Itachi placed the fox mask in front of his entire face, he hid away the tears that spilled. Tears he was crying for his family; for his father and mother. But most of them were for Sasuke. Because in less than ten hours time, Sasuke would return to a slaughter.

"You will hate me soon, Sasuke," he whispered to nobody.

As a breeze came by, Itachi disappeared to plot the massacre.

--

The rain had stopped and few rays of sunlight burst through the dissipating clouds. It was mind-blowing to see sun after so many days of rain. It felt warm on his now cool skin, blinding his eyes as the sunlight spread around the both of them.

Uchiha Itachi looked up in wonder, his chest heavily slowly as he tried to swallow away the blood that had flood his mouth. Breathing became more heavier, harder with every exhale. He could even hear his heartbeat slowing down more and more…

He looked to his left.

Sasuke was lying there, a peaceful smile lingering on his lips. Though his eyesight was blurred and almost nothing seemed to be clear to him these days, Sasuke's face was as clear to him as the first day he had gotten the Sharingan. Perhaps it was just the memory that had formed the features.

With a small smile, he remembered the day, so many years ago. It was a week after he had gotten the order to slaughter the Uchiha clan and the first murder had been committed; Shisui was dead. How he had wept over Shisui's body as he allowed it to float down Nakano river to where people were certain to find him. And how painful it was to use the Sharingan to simulate his handwriting.

The day of the massacre, Itachi had been talking to Sasuke for a short while, after ignoring him for almost a week. But instead of locking his love for Sasuke, it only surged up more and more after each passing minute. The one, innocent member in the Uchiha clan; the only one he could possibly protect.

Itachi had been right. They were inseperable; brothers like no other. Even though he had left just after the massacre, Sasuke, who had been begging for his life before, had chased him down towards the gate of the Uchiha district, throwing kunai at him before he finally slumped down on the street. He knew then that his decision was the right one; Sasuke would come for revenge and if he had ever found out what Konoha had done, he would be another threat to an otherwise peaceful village.

This, however painful, had been the right thing to do.

Before the massacre, Sasuke had hugged him as he left to do his 'mission'. He had hesitated back then, not wanting to give his younger brother a hug as Sasuke had wrapped his arms around him. Blood already stained his hands. He didn't want to touch Sasuke anymore with them.

With the last of his strength, Uchiha Itachi rolled to his side and brought up his arm to Sasuke. While moving on sheer willpower alone, Itachi grabbed his brother's shoulder and turned him onto his side as he gave Sasuke one final hug.

"Forgive me Sasuke," he whispered as he leaned back, letting go of his brother. With a smile, he raised two bloodied fingers and touched Sasuke's forehead. "This is the last time."

With that, he closed his eyes and let the rays of sunlight wash over his now peaceful face.

--

_**A/N: **Woah, this was a hard chapter to write, haha._

_See you next time during Memento's finale!_

_-- Mitsuki Shiroi_


	8. Chapter 8

**Memento – an Itachi & Sakura story  
By: MitsukiShiroi**

**Disclaimer: **Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

_**A/N: **__Last chapter!_

**Chapter Eight – Moiety**

She wasn't quite sure what to call them. They were lying there like ying and yang; Itachi dressed in black, Sasuke in white. Good and bad. Light and shadow. Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi.

… Revenge and sacrifice.

Sakura released the breath she wasn't aware she was holding and stumbled forward, molding chakra to her fingertips. She sidestepped most of the debris and the final, small fires that had formed in the grass and trees around her, towards the two Uchiha siblings on the ground.

Itachi was closest to her.

Even from where she was standing could she easily see the hole that had been punched through him. The crude smell of burned flesh clung to the air, signalling that it was the chidori that had enabled Sasuke to create a wound of that size.

The numb feeling deep inside of her disappeared as she broke into a run, landing roughly on her knees beside Itachi. As soon as she saw his face, Sakura knew it was too late.

Dried blood caked to his cheeks and eyes. His eyes were slightly opened, the color of them now midnight blue. Unseeing eyes, so unlike the alert ones she had gotten used to. His lips were parted, but his chest didn't rise anymore.

Shakily, Sakura brought her hand to his face, gently closing his eyes as she brushed the last blood away from his numerous cuts. She noticed several drops of water falling down on Itachi's shirt and glanced up towards the sky, confused, as the rain had stopped. It took her a while to realize that they were her tears.

And then she was sobbing loudly, clenching Itachi's shirt in her hands, not caring that Sasuke might wake up in a few minutes and see her bawling over his dead brother's body. There was no way that she could stifle the sobs as she leaned forward, pressing her face against his chest, remembering how kind he had been before she had left.

That had been him; that was the true Itachi hidden underneath thousands of layers filled with lies and masks that he had created for himself the day of the massacre. He was not a bad person at all. All Itachi ever wanted was to protect his brother. His goals were shared with the rest of team seven's since the day Iruka told them they were in a team together.

If only she had understood the subliminal messages earlier; if only Sasuke hadn't come to her, and if only she had realized that Sasuke would be coming for her. Of course he would. This was Itachi, the entire reason of his existence. Even if he hadn't kidnapped Sakura, he would have gone there for his revenge.

Sakura's tears finally stopped at some point as she grabbed both Itachi's hands and folded them together on his stomach. Then, with some consideration, did she slide off his scarlet ring and pocketed it. It would be a memento for her, a reminder who Itachi had pretended to be and who he really was. "I'm sorry, Itachi," she whispered to the smiling man. "I shouldn't have left."

"_Go, if you must._"

With that, Sakura stood up and walked towards Sasuke, molding chakra in her hands, enjoying the warmth of it as they heated her fingers. As she crouched down, she moved her hands to one of the larger cuts on his chest.

It was still insufficient enough to kill him, but Itachi sure as hell had done a good job faking the fight, Sakura noticed. Several cuts were located on his chest, arms and face, none of them severe, but still, they had to hurt him.

Seconds went by, but the wound on Sasuke's chest didn't close as fast as it should have. Confused, Sakura stopped the healing process, and removed her hand from his chest. Sakura frowned as she inspected the wound. It had closed up, but only slightly.

"What the-" She started to say, but silenced herself.

Sasuke wasn't breathing.

The world ended.

"… Sasuke-kun…" Sakura whispered, eyes widening as she touched his chest, now without chakra surrounding her fingers. His skin was cool, like Itachi's had been.

"No… nonono," Sakura said under her breath, grasping Sasuke's shoulders. None of his injuries could have been fatal. Itachi wouldn't kill Sasuke; he went to great length to ensure that his brother would live. It didn't make any sense. "Sasuke… Sasuke," she said, shaking Sasuke's still body. "Sasuke, wake up. This isn't funny anymore."

She was screaming his name now, in gut wrenching sobs as she continued to shake him, convincing herself that this was just a bad dream. Right now, she should still be in Konoha and be aware that Itachi was the pig she always thought he was. And both Sasuke and Naruto would be safe; the both of them would still be there today, tomorrow, a week from now, bickering with each other as they always did.

"_Sakura… thank you._"

"Open your eyes, Sasuke," Sakura said as she stopped shaking him. She molded the last of her chakra to her fingertips and put them to his chest again. "Open your eyes. You're not dead. You have your whole life ahead of you. This is not the end."

"_I told you before; I'm an avenger. And nobody, not even you, will stop me._"

She remained silent as she closed one of his wounds, tears unstoppable. Her hands were shaking and even though the sun shone, it felt as though she was suffering from hypothermia. Over and over did she whisper Sasuke's name under her breath until she finally closed his wound.

"There. See, I fixed it. Now open your eyes," Sakura said, smiling through her tears as she cradled his face against her chest. "You've pulled this one before, remember, when you were up against Haku. I'm not falling for the same thing again, Sasuke. Open your eyes."

"_Sakura… you're heavy_."

Back then, he had smiled as he was now. There was no mistaking the look in his eyes. Uchiha Sasuke was at peace; serene as a monk gone to God.

--

She wasn't quite sure how she got there, but when she woke up after hours of calling Sasuke's name, Sakura was back in Konoha's hospital. Naruto was sitting next to the bed, one of his knees propped up on the chair. His arms were folded together over it and his head was buried between them, as though he was ignoring something, like a little child.

"… Naruto?" Sakura whispered, not finding the strength to do anything more.

He looked up, his cerulean eyes blood-shot and his nose red. Naruto looked bewildered for a brief moment, before focussing on her face. He tried to smile, but it was a fluke. Instead of the broad grin that belonged to him, all she could see was a shadow of a smile.

"You're awake," he said, voice barely more than a whisper as well.

"… Sand?"

"I fixed everything," Naruto said simply.

There were no more words necessary. Everything she felt right then and there was reflected in Naruto's eyes. Though she had loved Sasuke, and knew that Sasuke cared about her, the bond between Naruto and Sasuke was much stronger. They weren't just best friends; they were brothers. Not in the same connection Itachi and Sasuke were, because Sakura doubted that anyone could be like Itachi in that aspect, but certainly there was a strong bond between the two of them.

"S… Sorry," Sakura said hoarsely.

Naruto frowned slightly. "For what?"

"I wasn't there in time," Sakura said, smiling. "I was too late."

"Don't," Naruto said, shaking his head as he moved from the chair to the bed. He wrapped his arms around Sakura and hugged her closely. "Don't blame yourself for this. We saw this coming. We all knew Sasuke have his way one day."

"But I don't understand…" Sakura said, nearly hysterical by now. "I've had so many years of practice. I'm a good medic kunoichi. Then why couldn't I help him? Why couldn't I see what was wrong with him?"

"Sasuke essentially killed himself," Naruto whispered, holding her closer. "He apparently used real lightning to fuel a Chidori and that's what ended him. Too much chakra, more than he could possibly handle. He burned himself from the inside."

"Remind me to do something to Kakashi-sensei for teaching him that technique in the first place," Sakura commented quietly. Naruto chuckled softly.

Though she had been joking, there was a serious tone in her voice as well. Chidori was one of the worst techniques she had ever seen. Even though Rasengan perhaps exceeded the damage that one could do to another, Chidori also had the double edged sword. Chidori was used on both Naruto and Sai when they saw Sasuke for the first time in nearly three years. It was almost used on Naruto on a hospital roof and now it was the cause of Sasuke and Itachi's deaths.

Part of her wanted to strangle Kakashi for ever teaching such a dangerous and vile technique to anybody.

Naruto was crying by now, his laughter long gone. He was holding on to Sakura, her shirt clenched in his hands as he wept like a child, using her shoulder for support. Sakura was glad for the numb feeling that had settled inside of her, enabling her to be there for Naruto without being an emotional wreck herself.

She wanted to tell him everything; about Sasuke and Itachi's battle and how unjust it was. How Itachi was actually a good guy and that their battle and the years of bottled hatred were all for nothing. But what would happen to Naruto if she told him?

Revenge, of course. Naruto was not one for revenge, but when it came to either her or Sasuke, Naruto would be the kind of person who would want to set the score right. Just thinking about it made her choke up and she pressed him closer to her.

Kakashi chose that moment to enter the room and all thoughts about strangling him were forgotten as Sakura noticed the heartbreaking look in his eye. There was no use in lecturing him about it; Kakashi had definitely learned his lesson.

Wordlessly, Kakashi stepped closer towards the bed and placed his hands on both Naruto and her head in a somewhat comforting gesture.

All Sakura could do was cry.

--

She wasn't sure why, but after the hospital had released her, the first place she went to, rather than her own house, was the Uchiha district.

It was abandoned long ago, and nobody dared to come near it, saying it was haunted. It was a good thing it was built near the border of Konoha, rather squashed into a corner of the grand city. The wooden gates were closed, but as she moved to open them, they slid open without much effort.

"Sasuke, of course," she whispered as she stepped inside the district.

Though the sounds of downtown Konoha could be heard everywhere, it seemed as if the Uchiha district drowned out the sounds. The silence was mind-blowing and there mere fact that she was standing on the grounds where a massacre had taken place was enough to have her shivering violently.

It still felt as if she were standing in the middle of a mass grave.

Though it was her second time there, Sakura couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as she tried to look around. Sasuke had taken her into the Uchiha district through the southern entrance. The one she picked was the closest one to the hospital, the east one, but she was sure that she could find the main house back.

The feeling that she was trespassing did not subside and only grew stronger as she wandered deeper and deeper into the Uchiha district. Her instincts seemed to guide her into the right way as the next street she walked into was familiar. Sakura glanced around, observing the perimeter until she saw the house that belonged to Sasuke's family, the stratches on the metal plate beside the door.

Sakura fetched one of her senbon from her pouch with a tiny smile and with greatest effort managed to scribble Itachi's name back onto the nameplate. It seemed like the least she could do right now.

Satisfied with her handiwork, she put the senbon back into place and slid the door to the main house open. Her hands touched the wall, wondering where the light switch was as she recalled Sasuke clicking it on from somewhere close to the door.

The light went on as she hit the switch and illuminated the dark house. With the same feeling of discomfort did Sakura walk out of the hallway and followed the exact same route Sasuke had taken her on, going outside towards the porch. This time around however, Sakura stopped at the pond, watching the reflections of the scant few clouds ripple across the water's surface.

She stood still for a while, pondering about how Sasuke might have sat here to watch the sunsets. Perhaps Itachi would have been beside him and they would have had their short, brotherly moments.

Sakura continued on her way, entering the room Sasuke had led her into and looked around. To the right was the door he didn't want her to enter. Even now, she had no urge to go inside and see what it was.

Instead, she did something worse and turned into the room that Sasuke had disappeared in. As she slid it open, it revealed an old staircase that led upstairs.

With every step she made, the floors creaked, making her flinch over and over as Sakura walked up the stairs towards the next hallway.

It was a small hallway, with only two doors. Her hands trailed past the walls, finding no switch for this particular area. Making due with the scant moonlight, Sakura walked towards the first door she could see, peering to see the name written in kanji on it.

_Itachi_

She traced the name on the wood, resting her hand against the rough texture. With a short smile, she opened the door, knowing fully that the room would be empty, courtesy of Sasuke, of course.

But when she opened the door, her mouth almost fell open in shock. Whereas Sasuke had scratched away his brother's name from the front door, Itachi's room seemed to be left alone. Her hands moved along the wall automatically and turned on the light switch as she found it.

It was a large room, but mostly empty. A bed stood near the window on the right and right next to it was a desk. There was a bookcase and a pile of scrolls, all neatly stacked up in a corner. In the open closet to the left were several dark Uchiha shirts, as well as what seemed like a yukata in Uchiha colors, an ANBU cape that had never been used and a Chuunin uniform.

As Sakura turned around, she saw a large version of the world map hanging on the wall opposite of the bed. His window showed a view of a large pond behind their house and a small dock.

It was your average room. And yet, to her, it was incredibly calming to be there. As if Itachi's presence was still there somehow, his protective spirit still watching over the now completely empty Uchiha manor.

No more Uchiha left. The only thing remnant of the once so mighty clan was one eye, embedded in the skull of a Hatake. And Uchiha Madara.

She shook in silent rage, knowing that she had to go to Tsunade soon and explain everything that Itachi had told her. Sasuke was dead, he would never know, but the rest of Konoha had a right to know who the true instigator of the massacre was. She would make sure that Itachi's name would be on the Heroes Memorial as well.

Sighing softly, Sakura stepped back out of the room and walked towards the opposite room, knowing fully well what name would be spelled out there. Similarly, she traced the kanji for Sasuke's name and rested her hand against it, as if his name made him more tangible.

When she opened the door, Sakura cried.

The first thing she smelled, above anything else, was the strong scent of fire and rain.

How long had it been since he was there last? When did they embark on that damning mission that had killed Sasuke and his older brother, while all they were supposed to to was head over to Sand and explain everything to Gaara?

She turned the lights on and found a room so similar to Itachi's that it wouldn't surprise her if Sasuke had looked at Itachi's room for furnishing ideas. She could imagine Sasuke sitting on his bed, reading one of his scrolls, or him sitting in the windowframe as he always seemed to do when he needed to think things over.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that he stood in front of her during the meeting, groggy and annoyed by the cat call. His usually perfect, spiked up hair was just a tad in disarray and his eyes, though alert, betraying the slight hints of sleepless nights. But even then, Sasuke had always been a comforting presence to her. Even when she hadn't yet realized that he was more than a crush, more than a knight on a white horse.

Still crying, Sakura moved to the bed, where the smell was strongest and crouched down beside it. She gripped the sheets in her quivering hands and brought them to her face, finding comfort in the way his scent surrounded her completely.

"Sasuke," she whispered to the dark room. Any time now, Sasuke could walk into this room, scowl at her for being in his most precious sanctuary and throw her out. She knew that had to be the case because she had lived in a world without Sasuke for years before and it was a world Sakura couldn't possibly return to. Not now; not after just getting him back.

It was too cruel to be true.

"_You've become a good kunoichi Sakura_."

The sobbing continued until dawn came. The sky started to transform into a myriad of colors; crimson, peach, green and blue hues coated the cloudless sky.

When Sakura finally tore herself away from Sasuke's bed, she retucked the sheets, not wanting everything to be disordered and looked around the room. There was some paper on the desk, something hastily scribbled on it, as well as some books scattered around the floor and some of the scrolls were unrolled.

With a smile, Sakura stepped to the desk, her gaze moving over the piece of paper until one word on it caught her attention.

"Mange…kyou?" Sakura said softly, picking up the piece of paper. Her eyes widened as she quickly read the note.

"_In order to receive Mangekyou, one must kill the one closest to him_."

The words were clear, the pen had gone through the paper due to the sheer force that had been behind the writing. Underneath the sentence however, were more disturbing words. All of them were written by Sasuke, though the first sentence did not resemble his handwriting at all.

In Sasuke's handwriting, it said:

"_Itachi said closest friend _(the word 'friend' was encircled several times)_. Itachi killed Shishui. Was not alone during massacre. Must have had help_."

"_Was NOT alone."_

"_Crying? Or just part of my imagination?"_

"_Itachi was crying."_

"_I have to measure his container. Revenge. But he was crying. Left me alive."_

Several other things had been written down, but Sasuke had crossed them all through. Though she peered at the paper, it was impossible to read exactly what it said.

Sakura sighed and turned over the paper, not expecting to find anything. But two tiny sentences had been written on the back and Sakura felt all of her blood draining away from her face as she read it over and over again.

"_Overheard Koharu and Homura talking about massacre. Konoha ordered Itachi to do it."_

"Konoha…" Sakura whispered, shocked to her very core. "Why would Konoha…"

Uchiha. Sakura closed her eyes, thinking about the books she had read about the foundation of Konoha; how the Hashirama clan and the Uchiha clan had fought against one another for many years and how Hashirama finally founded Konoha together with Uchiha, but had banned them to a corner of the village.

"Retribution? More than a hundred years later…? But Itachi said it was Madara…"

"_Was NOT alone."_

"Uchiha… Madara."

Sakura stumbled back until she hit Sasuke's bed and sat down on it, still clenching the note in her hand as she re-read the couple of sentences over and over again. It didn't make sense; Sasuke was the type of man that would want revenge. If Konoha ordered Itachi to kill the clan than surely Sasuke would be going after those responsible…

… Unless there was a reason for the slaughter.

Even though her curiosity had not been sated by far, because the note revealed some important things about the night of the massacre, such as Itachi's tears… one of the greatest mysteries that was bugging her right now was why Sasuke didn't stop chasing Itachi.

"He knew Itachi wasn't responsible, why do it anyway?" Sakura whispered, confused.

And then, as if Sasuke was standing next to her, she could almost hear his reasoning. Of course he would kill Itachi; whether he was responsible or not had nothing to do with the fact that Itachi was the one that killed his clan. Itachi was the one who had raised a katana towards his parents and who had mentally scarred Sasuke for the rest of his life.

But that knowledge would also come with the fact that his brother might have chosen the right thing to do. Konoha didn't order massacres like these; it was the first time it had ever happened. So there had to be a good reason. One good enough for Itachi to kill his entire family save for his brother and stimulate him for revenge.

"You were… commiting suicide alongside with Itachi," Sakura said, disbelief coloring her voice as she finally puzzled the last pieces of the enigma called Sasuke together. "That's why you went overboard. Itachi would have never killed you, not after everything he had done to keep you alive. You just couldn't bear living with the knowledge that you killed your brother, that you were equal in Itachi by killing family."

"_I have an ambition. The revival of my clan… and the death of a certain man."_

It was never 'and'. It was 'or'. Either Sasuke would move on from the slaughter and start a new Uchiha clan, or he would die together with Itachi.

With that new discovery came one more. "We were never enough," she whispered to the empty room. "Naruto and I were never enough… were we, Sasuke-kun?"

And so she wept.

--

Sundown was nearing when she reached the Heroes Memorial.

Sakura took out her precious senbon one more time as she circled around the stone and picked out a spot that looked like it would never be used. Smiling softly, she carved both the names of Itachi and Sasuke on it. It was tiny, but their names would be on the memorial now, and that was all that mattered.

Crouching down in front of the memorial, Sakura searched her pockets and found the Akatsuki ring that belonged to Itachi, and a small picture of Sasuke that she had found lying somewhere in her room.

Wistfully, she smiled at both items.

Mementos of two of the most extraordinary men she had ever known.

One so devoted to his village that he willingly slaughtered his clan, except for his little brother. Then, in order to protect Sasuke, he had developed a huge lie that would have worked, if Sasuke hadn't overheard the conversation between Koharu and Homura.

One so devoted to his clan that he willingly sacrificed everything for revenge. His parents and family were dead, they weren't coming back. The decision to kill the clan hadn't even been Itachi's. But even so, there was nothing he wouldn't do for the memory of his clan.

Two men, both larger than life.

She had a year and two months toghether with Sasuke. Less than two weeks with Itachi.

And somehow, it had to suffice for a lifetime.

**THE END**

_**A/N: **I'm SO getting lynched for this ending, haha. Sorry guys._

_Memento is incredibly hard for me to write, because it's a pretty hard story. More so than it focusses on the crush of Sakura on Itachi (whether it's reciprocated… I'll leave that up to you!) it focusses between the botherly bonds of Itachi and Sasuke._

_I see them both as extraordinary men and I think Sakura, should she ever find out about Itachi's truth, will think the same. As for Sasuke in this piece; honestly, this is the Sasuke I've always had in mind and have always loved. Perhaps it doesn't agree with recent manga developments, but it's still the Sasuke I had in mind when first writing this piece over two years ago!_

_I hope you all enjoyed it!_

_-- Mitsuki Shiroi_


End file.
